ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Austin Benigni scored 13-straight points during one stretch and 23 second-half points in all to rally the Navy men's basketball team (6-5) to a 61-56 victory over Air Force (3-8), Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

The game was the first between the teams in 20 seasons and gave the Mids their first win in the series since the 2001-02 campaign.

Both offenses took some time to become settled, with the Falcons being the first of the two do so as they took an 11-6 lead nearly nine minutes into the game.  Navy used an 8-2 run to take a 14-13 lead with 6:48 still to play before halftime.  That was the first of 10 lead changes –– to go along with six ties –– over the remainder of the half.  Air Force held a 25-24 lead at intermission.

"I think that is what Air Force vs. Navy is supposed to be," said Navy head coach Jon Perry.  "It was a one-point game at half.  I thought both teams came out and were competing really hard, but the ball wasn't going in the basket."

The Falcons were 1-11 from three-point land in the first half, but made their first attempt from beyond the arc on their first possession of the second half to take a 28-24 lead.  Navy drew to within two points at 28-26 and 30-28, then Air Force ran off the next seven points to take a 37-28 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.  The Falcons were 5-12 from the floor to start the stanza while the Mids were 2-10.

"Just really happy for these guys," said Perry.  "We had two great days of preparation.  When they (Air Force) got up nine, we didn't blink.  That comes from some senior and junior leadership.  And we made enough plays down the stretch, whether it be free throws or big rebounds."

Air Force soon took a 41-34 lead, then Benigni scored the next 13 points of the game to boost the Mids into a 47-41 lead with six minutes showing on the clock.  The run that encompassed two minutes and 20 seconds of game time consisted of a field goal, two three-point baskets, a field goal and a third triple.

"I felt I was taking good shots in the first half," said Benigni.  "I thought they were going in, but obviously didn't.  My teammates and coaches told me to just keep shooting the ball.  I let one go, and it went in that time.  I thought, 'well, might as well throw another one up,' and it kind of cascaded from there.  Definitely came from my teammates and coaches telling me to keep getting that ball up."

"He (Benigni) has played a lot of basketball," said Perry. "We have been around each other a lot.  He is not scared of those moments."

The Falcons made it a 49-47 game, then Benigni was fouled and his two made foul shots gave Navy a 51-47 lead with exactly three minutes remaining.  Air Force missed a shot on its next possession, with the carom being grabbed by Aidan Kehoe who flipped the ball to Benigni who promptly found Draper on a clear path to the basket for a dunk with 2:30 still to play.

Draper would quickly pick up his fifth foul of the game, but Kam Sanders made just one of two free throws (53-48) with 2:13 left on the clock.  Navy took its time on the next offensive opportunity, which ended on a bucket from Benigni that pushed the margin to 55-48 with 1:56 to play.  Air Force, which plays at one of the more deliberate paces in the country, was cautious on its next possession before missing a three-point shot late in the shot clock.  Kehoe snared the ball for his 15th rebound of the game.

Next, Navy kept the ball in Benigni's hands for nearly the entire length of the 30-second shot clock.  He eventually shuffled the ball to Jinwoo Kim, who drove about five steps from the sideline toward the lane before launching a contested 13-foot attempt with two seconds on the shot clock.  The ball bounced all over the rim before gently falling through to make the score 57-48 with 55.0 seconds left.

Now forced to hurry, the Falcons saw Lucas Hobin drill a three-point basket with 42.4 seconds left.  The basket made its a six-point game (57-51) and was followed by an Air Force timeout.  The Mids were able to advance the ball over halfcourt when play resumed, but Jordan Pennick found himself trapped in the corner and Navy had to call its final timeout with 33.2 seconds left.  Navy then ran all of six-tenths of a second off the clock before Cam Cole was fouled.  It was the seventh foul on the Falcons and sent Cole to the free throw line where he missed the front end of the bonus.

Air Force grabbed the rebound and eventually scored on a putback by Robinson with 21.2 seconds still to play that made it a 57-53 game.  The field goal was followed by the last timeout being called by the Falcons.  After the players lined up for the inbounds play, Cole broke free from his defender and Kim threw the inbounds pass to Cole at the Navy foul line where he made a layup to push the lead to 59-53 with 19.0 seconds remaining.  Now very rushed, Air Force launched a hurried three-point attempt that fell short with the rebound grabbed by Benigni who was quickly fouled with 11.2 seconds remaining.  He marched to the other end of the court and completed an 8-8 day at the charity stripe.

"They (Air Force) are a pretty slow paced team," said Benigni.  "They like to walk it up and get into offensive sets.  The philosophy was to try and speed them up and not give them so much time on the clock to run their plays because their plays take a long time to develop.  Just try to speed them up from there and make them do what we wanted to do."

Navy shot just 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half but nearly doubled that to 52.0 percent in the second.  This included the Mids improving from 2-9 from three-point range in the first half to 3-6 in the second half.  Defensively, Air Force shot 39.6 percent from the floor but was just 6-25 (24%) from three-point range.

"We were in a timeout down nine and I met with the staff and said the tempo wasn't where we wanted it," said Perry, as to why he went to a pressing defense.  "I just felt we needed to create some energy and get the crowd into it.  The crowd wasn't involved, so I think we have some athletic guys and they went out and executed it.  To their credit, they went out and made the plays in the press, in the defense, in the traps, they got the defensive rebounds and made their foul shots (14-15 for the game, vs. 8-14 for Air Force).

"I have a lot of respect for (Air Force head coach) Joe Scott, his staff and the Air Force Academy.  In the bigger picture of things, when you watch these guys playing for the name on the front of their jersey, it is really special.  I am really happy the community of Annapolis came out to not just support us, but Air Force as well."

Benigni was 7-11 from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point land, and 6-6 from the foul line after halftime.  That was after he missed both of his three-point shots and all four of his field goal attempts in the first half.  He also added five assists and seven rebounds.

"I thought we were getting good shots the whole game, but just weren't making them," said Perry.  "Offensively, they (Air Force) put you in some different stuff.  They are running a switching man-to-man (defense), then they go to man and they make you think for a little bit.  I think at that point in the game, whenever we needed him (Benigni) the most, he rose to the occasion."

Kim and Kehoe joined Benigni in double figures as each scored 10 points.  It was Kehoe's second double-double of the week as he recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds Wednesday at Delaware State, while Kim also dished out five assists.

Navy now takes a break for exams and will return to Alumni Hall Dec. 19 against Coppin State.