Navy (11-18, 8-8 Patriot League) at American (18-11, 12-4 Patriot League)
Wednesday, Feb. 26 • 7 p.m.
Bender Arena • Washington, D.C.

Series History
Overall: Navy leads, 54-52 / Patriot League: American leads, 30-19
Last Game: Navy, 81-58 / Jan. 2, 2025 (Washington, D.C.)
at American: American leads, 24-17 / Patriot League: American leads, 16-8
Last Game: Navy, 71-65 / March 2, 2024

Broadcast Information
Video: ESPN+ / Dan Laing, Gordon Austin
Navy Radio: WNAV / Matt Sabados, Mike Heary

Five Starting Notes
1 – American's Matt Rogers has played 13 career games against Navy.  He has scored 140 points career points against the Mids. 
2 – Austin Benigni leads Navy with six career games played against American.  He has scored 60 points in those games.
3 – Thirteen of the last 20 games in the series have been decided by single digits.  This includes six of the last eight games played in Bender Arena.
4 – This is the 31st season in which Navy and American are members of the same conference (seven years in the ECAC South Conference / Colonial Athletic Association, 24th year in the Patriot League).
5 – Wednesday's game will be the 107th in the series.  The only opponent Navy has played more often is Army (143).  The only foe American has played more games against is Loyola (108).

Game Information
•    Navy plays its final road game of the regular season Wednesday when the Mids travel to nearby Washington, D.C., for a 7 p.m. game at American.
•    A video stream of the game will be available through ESPN+ and WNAV will carry the game on the radio.
•    Matt Sabados and Mike Heary will be on the call for the radio broadcast.

About American
•    American plays host to Navy with an 18-11 overall record and winners of four of its last five games.  The overall mark includes an 11-1 record in home games.
•    The Eagles have posted a 12-4 record in Patriot League play.  This includes an 8-0 record in home games.
•    The last Patriot League regular season home loss for American was when Navy won a 71-65 decision on March 2, 2024, in last year's regular season finale.

Series History
•    Navy holds a 54-52 advantage in the series with American, which began Feb. 18, 1931.
•    The Eagles lead the Mids, 24-17, in their home games, which includes a 19-11 lead in games played in Bender Arena.
•    The teams have been fellow members of the Patriot League since the 2001-02 season.  In that time the Eagles lead the Mids, 30-19, in league regular season games, which includes a 16-8 lead in such games that have been played in DC.
•    The teams also met annually for seven years (1985-91) as members of the ECAC South Conference / Colonial Athletic Association.  Navy led American, 8-6, in conference regular season games played during that era.
•    Thirteen of the last 20 games in the series have been decided by single digits.  

Series Longevity
•    Navy has faced American the second-most times of any opponent in school history (game number 107 will be Wednesday).
•    This is the 64th season in which American and Navy are facing each other.  That ranks third for the most seasons in which the Mids have played an opponent.

Series Trends
•    The team leading at halftime has posted a 33-6 record over the last 40 games (one game tied).
•    The team making more three-point field goals has compiled a 23-12 record over the last 36 games (one game tied).
•    The team with more rebounds has posted a 27-10 record over the last 39 games (two games tied).
•    Navy has finished with more rebounds in 17 of the last 23 games (two games tied).
•    The team with fewer turnovers has posted a 1-5 record over the last six games, but a 15-10 record over the last 25 games.
•    Navy has finished with fewer turnovers in 12 of the last 13 games.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted a 13-9 record in games played on Feb. 26.  This includes a 5-3 record in Patriot League games.
•    Sunday's game will be the second in the series to be played on Feb. 26.  American posted an 84-77 victory in 2005.

Against The District
•    Navy has totaled a 143-99 record in games played against opponents located in Washington, D.C. 

In The District
•    Navy has totaled a 25-39 record in games played in Washington, D.C. 

A Look Back (Navy 83, Holy Cross 77 / OT) 
•    Holy Cross held an eight-point lead in the first half and Navy led by as many as eight points in the second half.
•    Navy led 71-69 with 13 seconds left after Austin Benigni made one foul shot.  The Mids fouled Max Green and he made one free throw (71-70) with seven seconds remaining.
•    Donovan Draper grabbed the carom on the miss and he was fouled.  Draper missed the front end of the bonus and Holy Cross snared the board.
•    Green was again fouled and he also made just one free throw to force overtime.
•    The teams traded baskets to start the extra session, then Navy scored on three of its next four possessions to take a 79-73 lead with 1:39 left.
•    The margin dipped to three points at 80-77 before the Mids were 3-4 from the foul line to seal the win.
•    Navy committed 10 turnovers and forced 21.
•    Benigni scored 26 points, Jordan Pennick scored a career-high 23 points, Draper tied a career high with 16 rebounds and Mike Woods was 7-9 from the field in scoring 14 points.

A Look Ahead 
•    Navy returns to Annapolis to finish the regular season with a Saturday game (4 p.m.) against Loyola.

Benigni Scores 1,000th Point
•    Austin Benigni became the 27th Mid to score 1,000 career points during Navy's Jan. 18 game at Bucknell.
•    He reached the milestone in his 81st career game.  That ranks him 12th for the fewest games to score 1,000 points.
•    13 Mids who have played all four seasons during the program's Patriot League era have scored 1,000 points.
•    Ed DeChellis has now coached seven Navy players who have scored 1,000 career points.
•    The last to do so was John Carter Jr., on Jan. 22, 2022.
•    Benigni is in 21st place for the most career points by a Mid with 1,204.  

Pennick on a Good Run
•    Jordan Pennick has scored in double figures in seven of Navy's eight Patriot League wins and three times in Navy's eight league losses.
•    Pennick totaled a career-high 20 points in Navy's Jan. 26 game at Army.  He was 4-6 from three-point range and 5-8 from the floor in scoring 15 second-half points. 
•    He scored all 17 of his points in the second half Jan. 29 at Lehigh.  Pennick was 5-7 from three-point range and 6-8 from the floor in the second half.
•    He also tallied 17 points and five rebounds Feb. 15 against Army.
•    Pennick then set a new career high with 23 points in Navy's overtime victory against Holy Cross on Feb. 23.
•    He is averaging 15.1 points (151 total) and 4.0 rebounds a game (40) over the last 10 games.  Pennick is shooting 43.7 percent (55-126) from the floor and 35.2 percent (25-71) from three-point land in this span.

DeChellis On Top Spot for Navy Coaches
•    Ed DeChellis set the school record for the most games as a Navy head coach Feb. 12.  The Lehigh game was his 418th on the sideline, which is one more than Ben Carnevale's 20-year total.
•    Navy's Jan. 2 win over American moved Ed DeChellis into third place for the most wins as a Navy head coach.
•    DeChellis coached in his 29th Army-Navy game on Feb. 15.  That tied him with Navy's Don DeVoe for the most games as a head coach from either school in the series.
•    DeChellis has posted a 9-5 record in Star Games.

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 117th nationally with an average of 11.41 offensive boards a game this year.
•    Aidan Kehoe (3.65 OR/G, 1st PL, 10th NCAA) and Donovan Draper (2.27 OR/G, 4th PL) rank among the league leaders in offensive rebounds.

Second-Chance Points 
•    Navy has regularly turned those second-chance opportunities into points. 
•    The Mids have scored more second-chance points than their foes in 12 of the last 14 games.  Navy has totaled 154 second-chance points (11.0 ppg) and allowed 89 (6.4 ppg) in this span.

Benigni's 10+ Point Scoring Streaks
•    Austin Benigni saw his streak of 26 games with scoring in double figures come to an end when he scored eight points in 18 minutes of playing time Nov. 25 against Washington (Md.).  
•    His run of 26 games is tied for fifth place for the longest streak of scoring in double figures in school history.
•    Benigni enters the Feb. 26 game against American having scored in double figures in 13-straight games and in 19 of the last 20 games.  The only outlier in this span was a nine-point game at Holy Cross.  He has scored 377 points (18.9 ppg) over this span.

Benigni's 20+ Point Scoring Streaks
•    Twice this season Austin Benigni has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games.  
•    He opened the year with 23 points at Saint Joseph's, 34 against Harvard and 23 against Rider.
•    Then from Jan. 15-22, he totaled 25 points against Colgate, 23 at Bucknell and 21 vs. Boston.
•    The last Mid to score at least 20 points in as many as three-straight games was Cam Davis, who did it in three games in a row during the 2020-21 season.

500-Point Seasons
•    Austin Benigni has scored 531 points this season.
•    This is after he totaled 526 points in 2023-24.
•    He has become the fourth Mid to have scored 500 points in multiple seasons.

Points in a Patriot League Season
•    Austin Benigni set the Navy record a year ago for the most points scored during a Patriot League regular season with 332.
•    He also ranks fifth with 307 points this season.
•    He ranks third with an average of 19.19 points per game in league play this season.
•    Benigni is nearing the 700-point plateau for career points scored in Patriot League games.

At the FT Line – Austin Benigni / 2024-25
•    Austin Benigni ranks first in the Patriot League and third in the NCAA for free throws made (168).
•    He ranks second in the league and 16th nationally in free throws attempted (196). 
•    He also ranks third in the league and 67th nationally with a free throw percentage of 85.7 percent.
•    Benigni ranks third at Navy during the Patriot League era (1991-92 to present) and ninth in program history for the highest career free throw attempts per game average with 458 attempts in 91 games (5.03 fta/g).

Benigni Leading in Points and Assists
•     Austin Benigni typically has led the Mids in either points or assists –– and occasionally both –– in a game since the start of the 2023-24 season.
•     Benigni is on pace to become 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 has become the eighth Mid with 1,000 points and 300 assists in a career.
•     Benigni also has posted the second 400-point, 100-assist season of his career and the 10th by a Mid.
•    Additionally, he has accounted for two of the four 500-point, 100-assist seasons at Navy.
•    Benigni enters the game leading the Patriot League in scoring and ranked second in assists.
•    Since the league expanded to 10 teams starting with the 2013-14 season, a player has finished among the top-three in both statistical rankings three times.

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.
•    He ranks among the Navy career leaders in steals average (seventh, 1.67 spg).
•    Navy has scored on 79 of the 157 possessions (50.3%) in which Draper has grabbed an offensive rebound.
•    Draper ranks among the Navy leaders for the highest career offensive rebounding average.

Draper's Points and Rebounds
•    Donovan Draper has become the second Mids to have totaled over 500 points and 500 rebounds in their first two seasons with the team.
•    He is one of five Mids have posted 500 points and 500 rebounds by the end of their junior season.

Kehoe on the Boards
•    Navy has scored on 39 of the 64 possessions (60.9%) in which Aidan Kehoe has grabbed an offensive rebound since the start of the 2025 Patriot League season.
•    Kehoe currently ranks second at Navy for the most offensive rebounds in a season with 106.
•    Kehoe currently ranks third at Navy for the most defensive rebounds in a season with 170.
•    Kehoe stands second at Navy to teammate Donovan Draper for the most rebounds in a season during the program's Patriot League era with 276).
•    Kehoe has set a new school record for the most rebounds in a Patriot League regular season with 173.
•    Kehoe ranks first at Navy for the highest rebounding average in a Patriot League regular season (10.81 rpg).

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 313 points (8.9 ppg) and 323 rebounds (9.2 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 354 points (9.8 ppg), made 60 three-point baskets (1.67 fgm/g) and grabbed 125 rebounds (3.5 rpg).