Navy men’s basketball was in desperate need of a victory. The Midshipmen were mired in a four-game losing streak and had plummeted to the bottom of the Patriot League.
The Mids finally found the winning formula Wednesday night.
Junior point guard Austin Benigni made 11 of 12 free throws in scoring 21 points and Navy led pretty much from start to finish in beating Boston University, 62-47. Benigni had a solid all-around floor game with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Jordan Pennick scored 13 points on the strength of three 3-pointers for Navy (6-14, 3-4), which led for almost 39 of 40 minutes. Sophomore guard Jinwoo Kim also netted 13 points for the Midshipmen, who won a conference contest for the first time Jan. 5.
“I’m proud of our guys. We put ourselves in a real tough spot by losing some close games and they were able to practice pretty well the last few days and find a way to win the game,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said.
Junior forward Donovan Draper contributed eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for Navy, which registered assists on 13 of 18 field goals. The Midshipmen made 17 of 23 free throws and overcame 16 turnovers.
After giving up double-digit leads in losses to Loyola and Bucknell, DeChellis was happy to see his team finish.
“We’ve been in every game. We just haven’t played well down the stretch,” DeChellis said. “At halftime, I told the players we were in the same place we were against Bucknell the other night. We’ve just got to make one play at a time. One offensive play and one defensive play. Our focus has to be really good.”
Freshman guard Azmar Abdullah came off the bench to score 21 points for Boston University (9-11, 3-4), which shot just 30% (16-for-52) from the field and committed 14 turnovers.
Navy did a tremendous job of defending the Boston starters. Miles Brewster, a returning first team All-Patriot League selection, got off only nine shots in scoring 11 points. Meanwhile, the other four starters shot a combined 3-for-21 from the field. Michael McNair, the Terriers’ top 3-point shooter, was 0-for-8 overall and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
“I thought defensively we were very good tonight. We played hard without fouling,” DeChellis said. “We needed to guard McNair because he can really shoot the ball. I thought our guys did a really good job of pushing out on him. Aidan Kehoe did a really good job on the big guy [Malcolm] Chimezie.”
Navy needed to play well and win at home with a trip to Army looming Saturday. That is part of a difficult stretch in which the Midshipmen play five of six league games on the road.
“I’m happy for our guys. Leading into the Army game I think it was important to get a win and get back on the positive side of the ledger,” DeChellis said.
“Obviously, we needed to get a win. Everyone knows we’ve got a big game coming up. To get this win gives us all the confidence in the world going into [Army],” Pennick said.
Benigni made a pair of 3-pointers in scoring 11 points as Navy took a comfortable 33-19 halftime lead. A 3-pointer by sophomore guard Jinwoo Kim sparked a 21-7 run to close the half as the Mids transformed a 12-12 tie into a double-digit advantage.
Pennick capped the stretch with a spectacular block at the rim to prevent a breakaway layup, then hustled to the offensive end and drained a 3-pointer.
“Plays like that can turn things around,” DeChellis said.
“Coach always harps on the toughness part. We can’t give them free layups like that. I just made a play,” Pennick said.
Pennick and Kim both hit 3-pointers early in the second half as Navy increased the lead to 20. Boston missed shots on five straight possessions to start the second half and found itself playing catch-up the rest of the way.
Abdullah drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 49-42 with 8:11 remaining. Navy repelled that rally by locking down on the defensive end and built the lead back to double digits (55-45) on a reverse layup by sophomore guard Cam Cole with 4:28 to go. Boston did not score for more than five minutes, going 0-for-8 from the field during that stretch.
“You’ve got to hang your hat on something as a team. It’s always been defense and rebounding at Navy, but we weren’t doing that,” DeChellis said. “That needs to be who we are. If we defend and rebound we’ll have a chance to win enough games.”
“Everybody just focused on each other. When you get on a losing streak like that, especially losing close games, everybody starts thinking individually,” Pennick said. “The last couple practices we harped on the team and building others up to build yourself up.”
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at [email protected], 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.
