ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Five players scored in double figures as the Navy men's basketball team (3-3) held off several second-half runs made at the Mids by NJIT (3-3) to defeat the Highlanders, 86-70, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Pacing the Mids were Aidan Kehoe with a career-high 21 points and Austin Benigni with 20.

"We wanted to be aggressive on defense and have our defense create some offense for us," said Navy head coach Jon Perry.  "It really did in the first half and generated a lot of really good looks."

Navy used a 15-0 run to build a 20-7 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half.  Jordan Pennick accounted for eight of those points on a pair of triples sandwiched around a field goal.  NJIT drew to within four points at 21-17 only to see the Mids answer with a 12-0 run to take a 31-17 advantage.  Navy led by as many as 20 points before taking a 51-36 lead into halftime.

The Mids shot 63 percent (17-27) from the field and were 13-17 (76.5%) from the foul line in recording the first 50-point half by a Navy team against a Division I opponent in 15 seasons.  The Highlanders were 4-14 (28.6%) from three-point range, 13-31 (41.9%) from the field overall and 6-9 (66.7%) from the charity stripe in the half.

Individually, Kehoe scored 16 points on 5-5 shooting from the floor and a 6-7 effort from the foul line and also grabbed five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game.

"It was deep post-ups," Kehoe said as to the reason for his success.  "I just used my size and strength to get low.  Once we got into the game and in a rhythm, they weren't coming as hard and I was able to get down and into position."

"We felt like we had an advantage (inside) and I thought the guys did a good job of attacking the paint whether that be in transition or in the halfcourt," said Perry.  "We are going to play through Aidan."

The Mids seemingly built a comfortable cushion several times in the second half only to see the Highlanders answer each time.  The lead went from 58-42 to 58-50, then from 68-53 to 68-61 with 7:41 still to play.  The teams exchanged a few baskets to make the score 72-65 with 4:39 remaining.

Benigni was fouled on Navy's next possession and made a pair of free throws.  He then registered a block to end the ensuing NJIT offensive opportunity, which led to Pennick scoring on the other end.  Next, the Highlanders missed a shot with Pennick grabbing the rebound.  Jinwoo Kim promptly drilled a three-point basket on the other end to push the lead to 79-65 with 3:44 left to play.

The margin remained at least 13 points over the rest of the game.

Navy shot 39.3 percent (11-28) from the floor including a 2-5 (40%) effort from three-point land after halftime while NJIT made 31 percent (9-29) of its second half shots and was 5-15 (35.7%) from beyond the arc.  Both teams were 11-16 from the charity stripe after halftime.  

Navy shot 50.9 percent from the field for the game and NJIT made 36.7 percent of its shots.  The Highlanders were 9-28 (32.1%) from the three-point line for the full 40 minutes and the Mids were 6-13 (46.2%).

The turnover statistics were vastly different in the two frames as Navy went from having two turnovers in the first half to seven in the second while NJIT committed eight turnovers before halftime and only two after intermission.  Additionally, Navy held a 20-2 lead in points scored after turnovers in the first half and NJIT held a 9-0 lead in the same tabulation in the second half.

Kehoe ended the game 7-8 from the floor and 7-9 from the foul line to better his previous career high of 20 points.  He also added 12 rebounds to notch his first double-double of the season and ninth of his career and also shared the team lead with four assists.

Benigni was 9-9 from the foul line, 5-9 from the field and made one triple to score a season-best 20 points.  He also dished out four assists and swiped two steals to go along with his block.

Pennick ended the game with a season-high 17 points, Kim added 13 points and Mike Woods posted the first double-double of his career with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

"I think he (Pennick) has that opportunity to be that guy who provides a spark for us," said Perry.  "These guys, credit to them; they find him. Our offense was executed really well.  He was able to knock some shots down and give us some energy.  I thought on the defensive end he did a really good job for us too.  He is a guy who will take a challenge on and guard a really good player for the other team.  I am really proud and happy for him.

"He (Woods) brings a little bit of juice, a little bit of energy, a little bit of pop.  I think he is a miss match problem at times, especially when we go small.  They went small late and it is nice to have a guy like Mike who has the physicality and the toughness to guard a bigger guy."

Navy now heads to Wilmington, N.C., for three games over four days (Nov. 26-29) at UNCW.  The Mids open the stretch with a Wednesday game against Gardner-Webb.