February 15, 2023

Mids Battle Their Way Past Mountain Hawks

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Daniel Deaver (Sr., Falls Church, Va.) posted a double-double and one was of four Mids to score in double figures in a gutty 75-64 victory by the Navy basketball team (16-11, 9-6) over Lehigh (14-12, 9-6), Wednesday night at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.  

The win was Navy's fourth in a row, eighth in its last nine games and its fifth-straight road victory.  It also moved the Mids in a tie with Lehigh for second place in the standings. The teams split the season series but Navy holds the tiebreaker as the Mids were 2-0 against current fourth-place Army and the Black Knights defeated the Mountain Hawks twice.

"I am really proud of our guys," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "We didn't play our best game, but they found a way to win.  They dug deep, made free throws when we had to, made a shot when we needed to, defended when we needed to.  It wasn't pretty but sometimes they aren't.  (Winning like that) is a sign of a team that's hungry. I think we are a hungry group."

Navy jumped out to early leads of 14-4 and 18-9.  Lehigh made it a five-point game at 27-22, but the Mids held the Mountain Hawks scoreless for almost six minutes as they took a 35-22 advantage.  However, Navy was held without a point over the final 3:54 of the half as Lehigh made the score 35-28 at the break.

Lehigh started fast in the second half and tied the game at 40-40.  The Mountain Hawks would soon take their first lead since the score was 4-2 when they led 48-46 with 13:39 left on the clock.  It was a 54-52 Lehigh lead when Austin Inge (Jr., Greensboro, N.C.) drained a three-point shot to give the Mids a 55-54 lead with 7:52 still to play.

The Mids scored on their ensuing two possessions -- a jumper by Deaver followed by a three-point basket by Patrick Dorsey (Sr., Raleigh, N.C.) -- to take a 60-56 lead.  The score remained unchanged for the next two minutes until Sean Yoder (Sr., Dublin, Pa.) hit a jumper to push the lead out to 62-56 with just over four minutes remaining.  Deaver ended the next Lehigh possession with a defensive rebound, after which he was fouled.  He drained both foul shots to make it an eight-point game with 3:39 left to play.

Deaver snared another defensive board on the next Lehigh offensive opportunity.  That led to Yoder driving to the basket.  He missed the attempt but grabbed his own miss and scored on the putback as he was fouled.  His made free throw stretched the lead to 67-56 with 2:46 showing on the clock.

It was down to a seven-point game at 67-60 with two minutes left.  Navy erased a good portion of the shot clock on its next time down the floor before Tyler Nelson (Sr., Monroe, N.C.) hit a mid-range jumper to make it a nine-point game with 95 seconds remaining.  The Mountain Hawks turned the ball over and that led to Nelson being fouled.  He made both foul shots to stretch the lead to 71-60 with 1:26 left.  

"The first half was too fast," said DeChellis.  "The second half we played at a little better pace.  (We) slowed it down somewhat.  They (Lehigh) are a good team in transition.  We had to keep them out of transition, which I thought we did, which was really good for us.  Our guys just made enough plays.   We have six-week exams this week with exams every day and early in the morning, so they are running a little on empty.  But gosh darn they found a way to win the darn game."

Navy shot 43 percent from the field in each half and limited Lehigh to a second-half mark of 35 percent and a 38-percent, so effort for the game.  The Mids were 11-15 from the foul line in the second half while Lehigh was 11-15 from the charity stripe for the game.

Navy held a 44-35 edge on the glass, including a 12-8 lead in offensive rebounds.  That enabled the Mids to hold a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Deaver tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead all players in both statistics. Yoder and Dorsey each scored 13 points and Nelson contributed 12 points.  Just missing double figures was Inge with nine points.

"We have had a tough week with beating Army Saturday in a very emotional game," said DeChellis.  "They came back Monday for practice and Tuesday and we found a way to win.  I am proud of our guys."

Three games remain in the regular season.  The Mids will be back home Saturday at 4 p.m. when they play host to Loyola.

Patriot League Standings
1. 14-1 Colgate
T2. 9-6 Navy
T2. 9-6 Lehigh
4. 8-7 Army
T5. 7-8 Lafayette
T5. 7-8 American
T5. 7-8 Holy Cross
T8. 5-10 Boston
T8. 5-10 Loyola
10. 4-11 Bucknell