Patriot League Tournament Semifinal
No. 5 Navy (14-18, 10-8 Patriot League) at No. 1 Bucknell (18-14, 13-5 Patriot League)
Sunday, March 9 • Noon
Sojka Pavilion • Lewisburg, Pa.

Series History
Overall: Bucknell leads, 48-44 / Patriot League Tournament: Bucknell leads, 5-3
Last Game: Bucknell, 85-74 / Feb. 1, 2025 (Annapolis, Md.)
at Bucknell: Bucknell leads, 31-9 / Patriot League Tournament: Bucknell leads, 4-0
Last Game: Bucknell, 73-69 / Jan. 18, 2025

Broadcast Information
Video: CBS Sports Network / Jason Knapp, Mo Cassara, Keiana Martin 
Navy Radio: WNAV / Matt Sabados

Five Starting Notes
1 – Navy and Bucknell are meeting in the Patriot League Tournament for the ninth time and the first since 2017
2 – The nine games ties Bucknell with Colgate for the most games played by the Mids against an opponent during the Patriot League Tournament.
3 – Navy has advanced to the semifinal round of the tournament for the fourth time in the last nine seasons
4 – Navy (5) and Bucknell's (1) respective tournament seeds were each three positions higher than where the teams were placed in the preseason poll.  Those were the largest leaps in the league this season.  It is the seventh time in 11 years in which the Mids improved upon their poll placement by at least three positions
5 – Navy's Austin Benigni leads the Patriot League with a scoring average of 18.6 points per game and Bucknell's Noah Williamson franks third at 17.4 points per game.  Benigni scored 44 points in two games against the Bison this season and has totaled 91 points in six career games in the series.  Williamson scored 54 against the Mids this year and has tallied 85 points in five career games against Navy.

Game Information
•    Fifth-seeded Navy heads to Lewisburg, Pa., for a Patriot League Tournament semifinal round game at top-seeded Bucknell Sunday at noon in Sojka Pavilion.
•    Jason Knapp (play-by-play), Mo Cassara (analyst) and Keiana Martin (sideline) will be the announcers for the noon telecast on the CBS Sports Network.
•    Locally, Matt Sabados will call the game on WNAV. 

About Bucknell
•    The Bison enter the semifinal round with an overall record of 18-14 and a 12-3 mark in home games.  Bucknell has won its last 10 games in Sojka Pavilion.
•    Bucknell compiled a 13-5 record in league regular season games to share the regular season title with American.  The Bison earned the No. 1 seed in the postseason for the 10th time in tiebreakers.
•    Since the start of the Patriot League season, Bucknell is outscoring its opponents by 11.9 points per game at home and by 6.5 points per game on the road.

Series History
•    Navy and Bucknell first met on Jan. 31, 1920, when the Mids posted a 15-13 victory in Annapolis.
•    The Bison have won the last four games in the series to take a 48-44 advantage.  Bucknell holds a 31-9 lead in games played in Lewisburg, including a 21-6 edge in games played in Sojka Pavilion.
•    This will be the ninth Patriot League Tournament game between the programs.  Bucknell holds a 5-3 advantage in those games, including a 4-0 record in games played in Lewisburg.
•    The game will tie Bucknell with Colgate for the most Patriot League Tournament games by the Mids against an opponent.

Series Trends
•    The team leading at halftime has posted a 2-3 record in the last five games but a 10-5 record in the last 16 (one tie).
•    The team making more three-point field goals has compiled a 2-3 record in the last six games (one tie) and a 5-6 record in the last 12 games (one tie).
•    The team grabbing more rebounds has tallied a 2-3 record in the last five games but a 10-3 record in the last 13 games
•    The team committing fewer turnovers has posted a 5-3 record in the last nine games (one tie) and a 7-9 record in the last 17 games (two ties).

Streaks
•    American had posted ab 8-0 record in Patriot League home games prior to Navy winning a 68-60 decision in Bender Arena on Feb. 26.
•    Boston U had won 12-straight home games until the Mids defeated the Terriers, 86-78, Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament.

On This Date
•    Navy has posted an 3-2 record in games played on March 9.  This includes a 0-2 record in Patriot League Tournament games.

Against Pennsylvania
•    Navy has totaled a 393-271 record in games played against opponents located in Pennsylvania. 

In Pennsylvania
•    Navy has totaled a 78-145 record in games played in Pennsylvania.  This includes a 9-32 record in games played in Lewisburg.

Mids Earn Another First Round Bye
•    Navy earned a first round Patriot League Tournament bye for the eighth time in the last nine years (2017-25). Colgate ranks first in this span with no first round games, followed by Navy with one.
•    Navy has reached at least the semifinal round of the league tournament four times in this nine-year span.

Navy Improves Upon Poll Prediction
•    Navy's Patriot League Tournament seed (No. 5) was higher than its preseason poll prediction (No. 8).
•    The Mids have now bettered their poll prediction for the ninth time in the last 11 years (tied their prediction in the  other two years).

Patriot League Tournament Seeding Note
•    The No. 1 seed holds an 11-0 advantage over the No. 5 seed in Patriot League Tournament history.

Navy Patriot League Tournament History
•    34th Patriot League Tournament
•    21-30 overall record
•    Three tournament titles (1994, 1997, 1998)
•    Four other finals appearances (1995, 2000, 2001, 2022)
•    3-18 record in road games
•    0-5 record in games played in Lewisburg
•    0-4 record vs. Bucknell in Lewisburg
•    7-2 record in semifinal round games
•    1-2 record in road semifinal round games
•    0-1 record in semifinal round games at Bucknell
•    Fifth time as the No. 5 seed (2-4 record)
•     1-10 record vs. the No.1 seed

Bucknell Patriot League Tournament History
•    35th Patriot League Tournament
•    47-28 overall record
•    Six tournament titles
•    Seven other finals appearance (2014)
•    28-6 record in home games
•    13-12 record in semifinal round games
•    10-1 record in home semifinal round games
•    10th time as the No. 1 seed (20-4 record)
•    5-1 record vs. the No. 5 seed

Improving Down the Stretch
•    Navy was a much improved team over the last third of the Patriot League campaign.
•    The Mids posted a 5-7 record through 12 games of the season, but closed with a 5-1 record over the last six (one made it a 6-1 record in the last seven with its quarterfinal round win Thursday).
•    The lone loss for Navy in this span was a four-point setback at Colgate.

Navy-Bucknell on the Airways
•    Sunday's game will be the fifth Navy Bucknell game to be aired by the CBS Sports Network since its founding as CSTV in 2004-05.
•    The game also will be the 11th in the series to air on national television.

A Look Back (Navy 86, Boston U. 78)
•    Navy scored on five-straight possessions during a 13-0 run to take a 15-4 lead.
•    Boston closed to within 21-19 before the Mids regained a 26-19 lead.  Navy led, 32-26, at the half.
•    The Mids held an 18-4 advantage in points after turnovers in the first half.
•    Navy opened the second half with five-straight scoring possessions to extend its lead to 42-31 less than four minutes into the frame.
*    The margin hovered between six and 12 points and then it was a six-point game again at 77-71.  Navy scored the next four points to take an 81-71 lead with 65 seconds left to play.
•    Navy shot 60 percent from the field after halftime and was 22-28 from the foul line in the second half.  The Mids were 24-30 from the charity stripe in the game.
•    Austin Benigni was 14-16 from the foul line in scoring 30 points to go along with six assists.  Donovan Draper tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
•    Aidan Kehoe was 6-6 from the floor in scoring 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Navy Quarterfinal Round Notes
•    The 86 points scored by Navy are the most by the Mids in a tournament game under head coach Ed DeChellis (previous high was 85 in OT win vs. Boston U. in 2022). 
•    Austin Benigni became the third Mid to score 30 or more points in a Patriot League Tournament game when he did so Thursday against the Terriers
•    It also tied him for fourth place for the most points by a Mid in any conference tournament game.
 •    He also made 14 foul shots in the game, which ranks fourth at Navy for the most in a Patriot League Tournament game.

A Look Ahead
•    The winner of Sunday's game will play either No. 2 American or No. 3 Colgate in the championship game of the tournament.  That game will be played Wednesday at the home of the higher seed in the game.

Service Assignments
•     Seniors at the Naval Academy learned of their future service assignments on Nov. 21.
•    On the men's basketball team, Mitch Fischer received Navy aviation (flight officer), Lysander Rehnstrom received Marine Corps (ground) and Kam Summers received Navy aviation (pilot).

Benigni Earns Two League Postseason Honors
•     Austin Benigni received a pair of postseason accolades from the Patriot League this week.
•    He first garnered First-Team All-Patriot League laurels.
•    This season's first-team nod comes one year after he received second-team honors.
•    Benigni then was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team for a second year in a row.
•    The junior computer science major carries a 3.33 cumulative grade-point average.
•    Benigni and Cam Davis (2020, 2021) are the only Mids to be named to the all-academic team multiple times since it was established with the 2010-11 season.

Draper's Rebounding of Late
•     Donovan Draper tied –– for the second time this season –– his career high of 16 rebounds during Navy's Feb. 23 game against Holy Cross.
•    He then snared 16 boards again in Navy's next game, Feb. 26 at American.
•    The last Mid to grab at least 16 rebounds in back-to-back games was Derric Turner, who had 16 boards against Jacksonville on Dec. 5, 1987, and 19 against Towson two days later.
•    Draper went on to snare 14 rebounds in the regular season finale against Loyola.  That gave him 46 rebounds in three games.
•    The last Mid with at least 46 caroms over a three-game span was Turner, who produced 49 boards from Dec. 5-8, 1987.

Pennick Named Player of the Week
•    Jordan Pennick was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on March 3.  It was the first weekly award of his career.
•    Pennick averaged 20 points a game in Navy's wins over American and Loyola.
•    He made six three-point field goals in scoring 22 points against the Eagles, then was 8-10 from the foul line with two more treys in totaling 18 points against the Greyhounds.
•    Pennick was 10-19 from the floor, 8-12 from three-point land and 12-16 from the foul line on the week.
•    Pennick was the third Mid to be named player of the week this season.  Austin Benigni earned the award on Nov. 11 and Donovan Draper followed on Jan. 6.
•    The only other season in which three different Mids earned the player-of-the-week award was in 2009-10 when O.J. Avworo, Chris Harris and Jordan Sugars all received the accolade.

Pennick on a Good Run
•    Jordan Pennick has scored in double figures in nine of Navy's 10 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.
•    The next game, Feb. 23 at American, he was 6-8 from three-point range in scoring 22 points.
•    Pennick would score 10 points in Navy's quarterfinal round victory at Boston U.
•    He is averaging 15.5 points (201 total) and 3.6 rebounds a game (47) over the last 13 games.  Pennick is shooting 44.5 percent (69-155) from the floor and 39.3 percent (35-89) from three-point land in this span.

Rehnstrom is Captain of the Captains
•    Lysander Rehnstrom was selected as the captain of the Navy basketball team for the 2024-25 season in a vote by the members of the team.
•    All Navy team captains participated in a leadership weekend at Gettysburg in June 2024 in preparation for the upcoming year.  At the conclusion of the trip, Rehnstrom was voted as the "Captain of the Captains," or more officially the Athletic Team Commander.
•    This leadership role was first established in the 2005-06 academic year.  Rehnstrom joins Cam Davis (2020-21) as men's basketball players to hold the position.

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.
•    DeChellis has tied Paul Evans for second place for the most conference tournament victories by a Navy head coach.

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 116th nationally with an average of 11.34 offensive boards a game this year.
•    Aidan Kehoe (3.53 OR/G, 1st PL, 12th NCAA) and Donovan Draper (2.47 OR/G, T4th 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 15 games.  Navy has totaled 158 second-chance points (10.5 ppg) and allowed 98 (6.5 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 Bucknell game having scored in double figures in 16-straight games and in 21 of the last 23 games.  He has scored 442 points (19.2 ppg) over this 23-game 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 596 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.
•    His 596 points ranks among the most by a Mid for a season.

Points in a Patriot League Season
•    Benigni set the Navy record a year ago for the most points scored during a Patriot League regular season with 332.
•    He broke his own record with 342 points this season.
•    He ranks fourth with an average of 19.00 points per game in league play this season.
•    Benigni is one of seven Mids to have scored at least 700 career points in Patriot League regular season games.
•    Benigni ranks among the Navy leaders for career points scored in Patriot League Tournament games (T-6th, 78).

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 18th place for the most career points by a Mid with 1,269 points.  

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 (198).
•    He ranks first in the league and eighth nationally in free throws attempted (231). 
•    He also ranks first in the league and 62nd nationally with a free throw percentage of 85.7 percent.
•    Benigni stands fourth for the most foul shots made by a Mid in a season.
•    Benigni ranks first at Navy during the Patriot League era (1991-92 to present) and 12th in program history for the highest career free throw attempts per game average with 493 attempts in 94 games (5.24 fta/g).
•    He was 17-17 from the free throw line against Harvard, which broke the Navy and Patriot League record for the most made free throws without a miss in a game.
•    Benigni ranks among the Navy leaders for career free throw percentage.

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.
•     He has 11 games this season with at least 10 points and at least five assists.
•    He has made (182) or assisted (135) on 317 of Navy's 797 field goals this season (39.8%).
•    In league games, that grew to 41.2 percent (107 made, 77 assisted, 447 FGM by team).
•     Benigni will 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 with 107 steals in 63 games.
•    Navy has scored on 85 of the 169 possessions (50.3%) in which Draper has grabbed an offensive rebound.

Draper's Points and Rebounds
•    Donovan Draper has become the second Mid 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 Glass at Army
•     Aidan Kehoe set several standards during Navy's Jan. 26 game at West Point.
•    He snared 20 rebounds on the afternoon, which broke the record for the most rebounds by a player in an Army-Navy game (19, Army's Kevin Ferguson, Feb. 20, 2016, 2 OT).
•    Kehoe is the first Mid to grab at least 20 rebounds in a game since David Robinson had 21 against James Madison on Jan. 10, 1987.
•    Through games of March 7, his 20-rebound total is tied for 11th for the most in the NCAA this season (the high by a player is 24).
•    The 20 boards also broke the Navy record for the most by a Mid in a league regular season game (19, Matt Fannin, American, Jan. 12, 2005).
•    Kehoe additionally grabbed eight offensive rebounds, which set a new record for the most offensive caroms by a player in the Army-Navy series (previous high was seven and attained four times).

Kehoe on the Boards
•    Navy scored on 40 of the 67 possessions (59.7%) in which Aidan Kehoe has grabbed an offensive rebound since the start of the 2025 Patriot League season
•    Kehoe has broke a tie with David Robinson for the most offensive rebounds in a season by a Mid.
•    Kehoe currently ranks third at Navy for the most defensive rebounds in a season
•    Kehoe surpassed teammate Donovan Draper for the most rebounds in a season by a Mid during the program's Patriot League era
•    Kehoe has set a new school record for the most rebounds in a Patriot League regular season.
•    Kehoe ranks first at Navy for the highest rebounding average in a Patriot League regular season.

Kehoe Shooting
•    Kehoe ranks second at Navy for the highest field goal percentage in a single season (2nd, 62.2%).
•    Kehoe has made 16-straight field goal attempts over the last three games.
•    That places him second for the most consecutive field goal attempts made by a Mid (20, Evan Wieck).

Kehoe Over the Last Year 
•    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 347 points (9.1 ppg) and 343 rebounds (9.0 rpg). 
    
Pennick Over the Last Year
•    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 404 points (10.4 ppg), made 70 three-point baskets (1.79 fgm/g) and grabbed 132 rebounds (3.4 rpg).

Woods Lately 
•    Navy's 6-1 record down the stretch coincided with Mike Woods having a resurgence on the court.  
•    He scored in double figures in three of the last seven game, shot 75.0 percent from the floor in this span and recorded 17 steals.
•    Woods recorded seven steals in Navy's March 1 game against Loyola.  That tally was one away from tying the mark for the most by a player in the NCAA this season (eight steals in a game has been achieved nine times).
•    It also places him in a tie for third for the most steals by a Mid in a game in school history and a tie for second for the most in a league regular season game.