Navy (4-5 / 0-0 Patriot League) at Delaware State (2-7 / 0-0 MEAC)
Wednesday, Dec. 3  I  7 p.m.  I  Memorial Hall  I  Dover, Del.
Video     ESPN+  I  Gary Laing
Radio    WNAV  I  Matt Sabados

Five Starting Notes
•    Wednesday's game will be just the second played between the teams and the first to be played at either school. 
•    Both teams have spent the majority of their respective seasons away from their home arena.  The game will be Delaware State's third of the year at home and Navy's seventh away from Annapolis.
•    The last time Navy played a game in Delaware was when it posted an 80-65 victory over Delaware on Dec. 5, 2018.
•    Donovan Draper now ranks 10th at Navy with 625 career rebounds. 
•    Austin Benigni has moved into 10th place at Navy with 1,459 career points.

Game Information
•    Navy makes a relatively short drive to Dover, Del., for a Wednesday night game at Delaware State.
•    The second meeting between the teams will tip at 7 p.m. at the school's Memorial Hall.
•    The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and WNAV will carry the radio broadcast of the tilt.

A Look Back
•    Navy posted a 1-2 record at last week's Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic in Wilmington, N.C.
•    The Mids opened the event with an 84-51 victory over Gardner-Webb. Aidan Kehoe recorded 20 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.
•    Weekend-host UNCW, a 2025 NCAA Tournament team, defeated the Mids, 87-57, in the middle game of the three.  Austin Benigni scored 25 points and Jinwoo Kim made four triples in scoring 16 points.
•    Navy closed the weekend with a 69-65 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.  The Mids battled back from a 19-point second-half deficit to tie the game and have several possessions to take the lead.  Benigni scored 14 points and Cam Cole chipped in 13 behind 3-4 shooting from three-point range.

Delaware State Preview
•    Delaware State posted an overall record of 16-14 a season ago and place third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with an 8-6 record.
•    The Hornets tied for fifth place in this year's conference preseason poll.
•    Delaware State enters the game with a 2-7 record on the season.  The Hornets have won both of their home games against Cheyney and Kean, and have lost road games to, among others, Temple, Syracuse, Miami (Fla.) and UMBC.
•    The Hornets have compiled an 13-2 record in home games since the start of the 2024-25 season.

Series History
•    Wednesday's game is just the second between the teams and will be the first to be played on either campus.
•    The lone prior game in the series occurred in the fall of 2012 when Navy defeated Delaware State, 63-53, in a game played in South Padre Island, Texas.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 14-16 record in games played on December 3.

Against This State 
•    Navy has posted a 26-8 record against teams located in Delaware.

In This State 
•    Navy has tallied a 6-2 record in games played in Delaware.

Navy vs. MEAC on the Road
•    The Mids have compiled a 17-13 record against teams currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
•    This includes a 4-10 record against current MEAC teams when the game was played on the road.

Delaware State vs. Patriot League at Home  
•    The Hornets have tallied a 3-8 record against teams currently in the Patriot League.
•    This includes a 2-2 record in home games played against current teams in the Patriot League.

A Look Ahead
•    Navy returns home for a Dec. 7 game in Alumni Hall against Air Force.

Service Assignments Announced
•    Seniors at the USNA learned of their service assignments upon graduating from Navy this spring during lunch on Thursday, Nov. 20.
•    Those entering the Navy will do so with the rank of Ensign and those entering the Marine Corps will be 2nd Lieutenants.
•    The seniors on the men's basketball team received the following assignments:

Austin Benigni - Navy aviation (pilot)
Cam Cormany - Navy aviation (flight officer)
Donovan Draper - Navy information warfare
Aidan Kehoe - Navy surface warfare (nuclear)
Sam Krist - Marine Corps ground
Mike Woods - Navy surface warfare

On the Road Again, and Again and Again
•    Navy is playing at least one road game in each of the first five weeks of the season.

Week of / Road Games
Nov. 2-9 / at Presbyterian (Nov. 3)
Nov. 10-16 / at Penn State (Nov. 11)
Nov. 17-23 / at North Carolina (Nov. 18)
Nov. 24-30 / 3 Games at UNCW (Nov. 26-29)
Dec. 1-7 / at Delaware State (Dec. 3)

Navy in the NCAA Rankings
•     Navy as a team and several of its players are scattered through the NCAA statistical rankings released the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Team
Fouls / Game    83rd    16.4
Free Throw Pct.    54th    76.0%
Individuals
>> Austin Benigni
Assists    65th    40
Field Goal Attempts    34th    114
Free Throw Attempts    16th    63
Free Throws Made    6th    55
Minutes    16th    35:22
Points    57th    148
Steals    74th    16
>> Donovan Draper
Rebounds    63rd    64
Defensive Rebounds / Game    91st    5.56
Steals    42nd    18
Steals / Game    76th    2.00
>> Aidan Kehoe
Field Goal Pct.    8th    69.6%
Rebounds    35th    71
Offensive Rebounds / Game    79th    3.00
Rebounds / Game    83rd    7.9
>> Mike Woods
Free Throw Pct.    41st    92.0%

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 are +1,060 in offensive rebounding margin over the last 12 seasons.

Three-Point Plays 
•    Austin Benigni (47) and Donovan Draper (27) lead the team for the most career three-point play opportunities.
•    Benigni has had at least one three-point play opportunity in 36 career games, as well as in 31 of the 74 games since the start of his sophomore year.

Benigni Scores 1,000th Point
•    Austin Benigni became the 27th Mid to score 1,000 career points during Navy's Jan. 18, 2025, game at Bucknell.
•    He reached the milestone in his 81st career game.  That ranks him 12th for the fewest games needed to score 1,000 points.
•    Benigni is in 10th place for the most career points by a Mid with 1,459 points.  
•    Benigni is in a tie for ninth place at Navy with 30 career games with 20 or more points.  

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni
•    Austin Benigni ranked fifth in the NCAA for the most free throws made during the 2024-25 season with 220.
•    He also ranked fifth nationally with 255 free throws attempted.
•    Additionally, his free throw percentage of 86.3 percent ranked first in the league and 56th nationally.
•    Benigni ranks among the Navy leaders for career free throw percentage (tied for first at 85.7%).

Benigni Leading in Points and Assists
•     Austin Benigni typically has led the Mids in either points or assists –– and occasionally both –– in a game, especially since the start of his 2024-25 season.  He has done so two times this season and 35 times in his career.
•     Benigni has totaled both 10 or more points and 5 or more assists in 27 career games.
•     Benigni became the third Mid to lead the team in total points and assists in multiple seasons since assists began being tracked with the 1972-73 season.
•     Benigni is the eighth Mid with 1,000 points and 300 assists in a career.
•     He ranks among the Navy leaders for career assists (12th with 374).

Donovan Draper's Double-Doubles
•    Though he has played a little more than only two full seasons, Donovan Draper ranks 10th at Navy with 15 career double-doubles. 

Draper's Steals and Rebounds
•    Donovan Draper spent the 2021-22 academic year as a football player at the Naval Academy Prep School.  He then was wide receiver at Navy on the 2022-23 team.
•    Draper, who was an all-county basketball player in high school, joined the Navy basketball team in the spring of 2023.
•    After going 994 days between his last high school basketball game and first as a Mid, he made an immediate impact as he ranked among the Patriot League and NCAA leaders in multiple statistical categories (steals, offensive rebounds, total rebounds).
•    He ranks among the Navy career leaders in steals (12th with 129) and steals per game (tied for sixth with 1.74 spg).
•    Navy has scored on 98 of the 188 possessions (52.1%) in which Draper has grabbed an offensive rebound.
•    Draper ranks among the Navy leaders for the most career offensive rebounds (ninth with 193) and the highest career offensive rebounding average (second at 2.61 orpg).
•    He grabbed the 600th rebound of his career Nov. 18 at North Carolina.
•    Draper snared the 600th board of his career in his 70th game, making him the third fastest to 600 rebounds.  He ranks 10th with 625 career boards.

Kehoe on the Boards
•    Aidan Kehoe set a Navy record in 2024-25 for the most offensive boards by a Mid in a season (115).
•    Kehoe also ranked third at Navy for the most defensive rebounds in a season with his effort last year (187).
•    He ranks among the Navy career leaders in offensive rebounding average (fourth at 2.44 orpg).

Kehoe Shooting
•    Aidan Kehoe ranked second at Navy for the highest field goal percentage in a single season in 2024-25 (62.1%).
•    Kehoe also ranks among the Navy leaders for career field goal percentage (second, 62.3%).