Navy (5-11, 2-1 Patriot League) at Loyola (6-8, 1-2 Patriot League)
Saturday, Jan. 11 • 5 p.m.
Reitz Arena • Baltimore, Md.

Series History
Overall: Navy leads, 37-12 / Patriot League: Navy leads, 16-7
Last Game: Navy, 64-48 / March 5, 2024 (Annapolis, Md.)
at Loyola: Navy leads, 12-7 / Patriot League: Navy leads, 6-5
Last Game: Navy, 69-62 / Feb. 21, 2024

Broadcast Information
Video: ESPN+ / Gary Lambrecht, Jim Chivers
Navy Radio: WNAV / Matt Sabados

Five Starting Notes
1 – Loyola's Milos Ilic leads the Patriot League with six double-doubles this year.  Navy's Aidan Kehoe ranks second with five.  Kehoe has recorded a double-double in each of the last four games.
2 – Loyola leads the Patriot League with an average of 14.1 free throws made a game.  Navy ranks second with 13.5.
3 – The last seven games in the series to be played at Loyola have been decided by single digits.
4 – Seven of the last eight and 13 of the last 15 league regular season games played between the teams have been determined by single digits.
5 – Current Navy players have scored 173 career points against the Greyhounds and current Loyola players have scored 122 career points against the Mids.  Austin Benigni (74) and Garrett Brennan (27) lead the respective teams.

Game Information
•    The Mids play the second of back-to-back road games Saturday with a 5 p.m. game at Loyola.
•    The game will be streamed on ESPN+.  
•    Matt Sabados will be on the call for the WNAV radio broadcast of the game.

About Loyola 
•    Loyola enters the game with an overall record of 6-8 this season.  The Greyhounds fell to 1-2 in Patriot League play with a 74-72 loss at Army on Wednesday.  That was the same score by which they lost their league opener at Holy Cross on Jan. 2.
•    In between those losses was an 80-74 win at home over Lehigh on Jan. 5.

Series History
•    Navy holds a 37-12 advantage in the all-time series with Loyola, which dates back to the 1909-10 season.  
•    The Mids lead the Greyhounds, 12-7, in games played on the Loyola campus.  This includes a 9-7 advantage in games played in Reitz Arena.
•    Navy also leads Loyola, 16-7, in league regular season games.  This includes a 6-5 edge in games played at Loyola.
•    The teams split the 2024 regular season series as the road team won each game.  The Mids then registered a 64-48 win over the Greyhounds in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 21-18 record in games played on Jan. 11.  This includes a 3-9 record in Patriot League games.
•    The teams have previous met on Jan. 11 in two seasons.  The Mids won a 65-62 double overtime game in 1993 as well as a 75-62 decision in 2017.

Against Maryland
•    Navy has totaled a 197-79 record in games played against opponents located in Maryland.

In Maryland
•    Navy has posted a 35-47 record in games played in Maryland away from Annapolis.
•    This includes a 20-17 record in games played in Baltimore.

A Look Back (Holy Cross 70, Navy 59)
•    Navy opened the game with a 19-12 lead, only to fall behind 21-19.  The score was tied at 26-26 when Holy Cross closed the half on a 12-4 run to take a 38-30 lead at the break.
•    The Mids tied the game at 40-40 three minutes into the second half.  After an exchange of baskets made the score 42-42, Holy Cross scored the next 11 points to take a 53-42 lead.
•    The margin would be double figures for the final 10 minutes of the game.
•    Holy Cross shot 53.7 percent from the floor and was 10-20 from three-point range.  Navy made just 39.7 percent of its shots, was 7-28 from three-point land and was 2-10 from the foul line.
•    Aidan Kehoe was 9-11 from the floor in scoring 18 points to go along with a career-best 14 boards.

A Look Ahead 
•    Navy returns home for a Wednesday game against Colgate.

Draper Earns Weekly Award
•    Donovan Draper was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Jan. 6.  It was the first time he earned the accolade.
•    Draper averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in Navy's two wins over American and Lafayette.  He shot 73.7 percent (14-19) from the floor in the games.
•    Draper neared a triple-double in the victory over American as he finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. 
•    He then tallied 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals in then win over the Leopards.  Draper sealed the victory by sinking a midrange jumper with 2.1 seconds left.

Kehoe on Double-Double Run
•    Aidan Kehoe has posted a double-double in the last four games.
•    He and Hassan Booker (Jan. 14-24, 1998) are the only two Mids since David Robinson completed his career (1984-87) to record a double-double in four-consecutive games.
•    Kehoe ranks second in the Patriot League and 44th in the NCAA with five double-doubles this year.
•    He also ranks 12th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.630).

Kehoe in the Last 4 Games
11 pts., 11 rebs. / 5-7 FG-A at William & Mary
20 pts.*, 11 rebs. / 8-11 FG-A vs. American
12 pts., 12 rebs. / 4-11 FG-A vs. Lafayette
18 pts., 14 rebs.* / 9-11 FG-A at Holy Cross
61 pts. (15.3 ppg), 48 rebs. (12.0 rpg) 
26-40 FG-A (65.0%)
* = career high

The Flying Mids
•    Navy is trying to play at a faster pace this season.
•    Using the adjusted tempo statistic (possessions per 40 minutes) on KenPom.com, the Mids are playing at their fastest pace during the Ed DeChellis-coached era (69.0 possessions a game, 149th in the NCAA).
•    Loyola is averaging 68.3 possessions a game to rank 185th.

Navy Bench Has Been a Strength
•    The Mids have received an average of at least 20 points a game from their bench since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
•    Navy ranked fourth in the Patriot League and 149th nationally in bench scoring during the 2023-24 season (20.06 ppg).
•    This year, the reserves scored 45 of the team's 86 points against Penn and 39 of 63 points against Elon.
•    The Mids are fourth in the league and 218th in the NCAA this year with an average of 21.0 bench points per game.

Navy Good Again on the Offensive Boards
•    Navy has been very good over the last number of years at winning the offensive rebound margin.
•    The Mids ranked first in the Patriot League and 40th nationally during the 2023-24 season with an average of 12.45 offensive rebounds per game.
•    Navy stands first in the league and 112th nationally with an average of 11.75 offensive boards a game this year.
•    Aidan Kehoe (3.31 OR/G, 1st PL, 29th NCAA) and Donovan Draper (2.44 OR/G, 4th PL, 145th NCAA) rank among the NCAA leaders in offensive rebounds.

Taking Good Care of the Ball 
•    Navy is once again doing a good job of not only taking care of the ball but also forcing turnovers.  The Mids again are ranked among the Patriot League and NCAA leaders in all three turnover categories.
•    The Mids rank second in the league in turnover margin and turnovers committed as well as third in turnovers forced.

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni / 2024-25 
•    Benigni ranks 22nd in the NCAA for free throws made (84) and 39th in free throws attempted (99). 
•    He also ranks 106th with a free throw percentage of 84.8 percent.

Kehoe Lately 
•    Aidan Kehoe moved into the regular rotation during Navy's Feb. 21, 2024, game at Loyola and made his first start in the next game against Holy Cross.
•    He had totaled 26 points (1.0 ppg) and 40 rebounds (1.5 rpg) in 26 career games prior to taking to the floor against the Greyhounds.
•    Since then, he has totaled 221 points (10.0 ppg) and 185 rebounds (8.4 rpg).