Lafayette (6-8, 1-0 Patriot League) at Navy (4-10, 1-0 Patriot League)
Sunday, Jan. 5 • 2 p.m.
Alumni Hall • Annapolis, Md.

Series History
Overall: Navy leads, 56-36 / Patriot League: Navy leads, 33-31
Last Game: Navy, 62-58 / Feb. 28, 2024 (Annapolis, Md.)
at Navy: Navy leads, 38-15 / Patriot League: Navy leads, 19-13
Last Game: Navy, 62-58 / Feb. 28, 2024

Broadcast Information
Video: ESPN+ / Matt Sabados, Mike Heary
Navy Radio: WNAV, WFED / Matt Sabados, Mike Heary

Five Starting Notes
1 – This is the 44th season in the last 46 (since 1979-80) in which Navy and Lafayette are facing each other (1988-89 and the 2020-21 COVID season).
2 – Fourteen of the last 20 games in the series have been decided by single digits.  This includes 9 of the last 12 games played in Annapolis.
3 – The home team won both games in 2024.  The road team won each game in 2023.
4 – Navy's Austin Benigni and Donovan Draper combined for 66 points against the Leopards last season.  Lafayette's Devin Hines and Justin Vander Baan collectively scored 63 points against the Mids a year ago.
5 – Lafayette ranks first in the Patriot League in turnover margin (2.5) and Navy ranks second (0.9).

Game Information
•    Navy's brief week of home games concludes Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Mids play host to Lafayette.
•    The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the radio through WNAV and WFED.  Matt Sabados and Mike Heary will have the call on the simulcast.

Attending the Game
•    Only those vehicles driven by someone with a Department of Defense (DoD)-approved identification card will be allowed onto the USNA.
•    Fans without DoD approved vehicle access to the USNA must park outside of The Yard.  The simplest way to do this is to park ($10 per vehicle) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (550 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Md., 21401).  Enter the blue / west parking lot through gate 5 off of Taylor Avenue.  The free fan shuttle bus will leave from and return to the Blue Angel jet.  Fan shuttle bus hours begin one hour before tip and end one hour after the conclusion of the game.
•    Whether a visitor rides the shuttle bus or walks through one of the USNA gates, everyone ages 18 and over must have a valid picture ID (i.e.: State issued driver's license, student I.D., or a government issued passport). Visitors ages 17 and younger who do not have a valid picture ID must be accompanied by an adult. 

About Lafayette 
•    Lafayette travels to Annapolis with an overall record of 6-8 and after it posted a 60-46 victory over Boston Thursday night in the league opener.
•    The win over the Terriers snapped a three-game skid for the Leopards.
•    Navy and Lafayette have each defeated Penn this year.
•    The Leopards have posted a 1-6 record in road games this season.

Series History
•    Navy holds a 56-36 lead in the series with Lafayette, which began Jan. 10, 1920.
•    This year marks the 57th season with at least one Navy-Lafayette game, and is the 44th season in the last 46 in which they are facing each other.  The teams have played at least once in all but two seasons since the 1979-80 campaign (1988-89 and the 2020-21 COVID season).
•    The Mids lead the Leopards, 38-15, in games played in Annapolis and by the count of 21-12 in games played in Alumni Hall.
•    Navy narrowly lead Lafayette, 33-31, in Patriot League regular season games.  The Mids are in front of the Leopards, 19-13, in league games played in Annapolis and 19-12 in league games played in Alumni Hall.
•    The home team won both 2024 meetings, with Lafayette winning, 78-62, in Easton and Navy recording a 62-58 victory in Annapolis.
•    Fourteen of the last 20 games in the series have been decided by single digits.  This includes 9 of the last 12 games played in Annapolis.

Opening Night Notes
•    Navy's 81-58 victory over American gave the Mids wins in seven-straight Patriot League opening games, 
•    That breaks the Navy record for the longest run of winning the program's Patriot League opener (1996-01).
•    The next longest active winning streak in Patriot League opening games is Colgate with three in a row.
•    The Mids have started a league season with a 2-0 record 10 times, but have done so just three times over the last six opportunities.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 14-12 record in games played on Jan. 5.  This includes a 2-3 record in Patriot League games.
•    Navy posted a 79-71 victory over Lafayette when the teams met on Jan. 5, 2014.

Against Pennsylvania
•    Navy has totaled a 390-268 record in games played against opponents located in Pennsylvania.

A Look Back (Navy 81, American 58)
•    Navy quickly built an 8-2 lead and expanded it to 10 points at 16-6.  The Mids then jumped in front 26-12 and 38-23 before going into halftime with a 42-29 lead.
•    American whittled the deficit down to six points at 57-51, but the Mids scored the next eight points as part of a 17-3 run to put the game away.
•    Aidan Kehoe and Donovan Draper combined for 37 points, 14-18 shooting from the floor, 22 rebounds and 8 assists.
•    Navy shot 58.3 percent after halftime and 54.5 percent for the game.

A Look Ahead 
•    Navy starts back-to-back road games with a Wednesday game at Holy Cross.

85 Points!
•    The Mids totaled 85 points in their Nov. 8 victory over Harvard.
•    The last time Navy scored 85 or more points against a Division I opponent was when the Mids scored 86 at Holy Cross in Feb. 4, 2022.
•    The last time the Mids scored at least 85 points in a 40-minute game against a Division I non-Patriot League opponent was when they tallied 85 points against St. Francis Brooklyn on Nov. 24, 2017.
•    Navy then bettered that total when it scored 86 points in a Nov. 29 game at Penn.
•    The Mids have scored at least 80 points in four games this season, three of which have been against NCAA Division I foes.
•    The four games ties this year's team for the most by an Ed DeChellis-coached Navy team.

Points Per Game Highs and Lows
•    This year's Mids are scoring at a higher average than previous Ed DeChellis-coached Navy teams (72.7 ppg).
•    Navy also is allowing opponents to scorer at a higher rate than other teams during the DeChellis era (72.7 ppg).

The Flying Mids
•    Navy is trying to play at a faster pace this season than in the past.
•    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 (69.2 possessions a game, 154th in the NCAA).
•    Lafayette is averaging 67.1 possessions a game to rank 247th.

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 third in the league and 200th in the NCAA this year with an average of 22.14 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 100th nationally with an average of 12.07 offensive boards a game this year.
•    Aidan Kehoe (3.00 OR/G, 3rd PL, 63rd NCAA) and Donovan Draper (2.57 OR/G, 4th PL, 113th NCAA) rank among the NCAA leaders in offensive rebounds.

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni / 2024-25 
•    Benigni ranks 14th in the NCAA for free throws made (79) and 27th in free throws attempted (91). 
•    He also ranks 71st with a free throw percentage of 86.8 percent.
•    Benigni ranks fifth at Navy during the Patriot League era (1991-92 to present) and 21st in program history for the highest career free throw attempts per game average with 353 attempts in 76 games (4.64 fta/g).

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 191 points (9.0 ppg) and 161 rebounds (7.9 rpg). 

Pennick Lately
•    Jordan Pennick had appeared in 16 games prior to Navy's Feb. 17, 2024, game at Boston U., and totaled 26 points (1.6 ppg) and 18 rebounds (1.1 rpg).
•    Since then, he has scored 175 points (8.3 ppg) and grabbed 72 rebounds (3.6 rpg).