In a 30-game season, the final two seconds will be remembered most by Navy.
That?s all it took for Bucknell guard John Griffin to make a three-point shot from half-court at the buzzer to give his team an 87-86 triple-overtime victory to end the Midshipmen?s season in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament.
Navy coach Billy Lange said nothing could take away from what his team accomplished this season, but it didn?t alleviate the pain from the heartbreaking fashion in which the Midshipmen ended their season at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
With the game tied at 84, Navy sophomore forward T.J. Topercer scored on a putback with 2.1 seconds remaining, only to see Griffin deny the Midshipmen their first postseason victory since 2001.
The loss ended the Midshipmen?s hopes of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998and concluded what had been a remarkable turnaround for Navy, which finished seventh in the league last season.
“I feel like our team has been the most consistent team in the Patriot League all season long,” Lange said. “I feel like we played every game like we did [against Bucknell] where you are living on that wire. It?s almost surreal to sit back and realize our season is over because this team has been such a joy to be around.”
Lange said he is proud of the strides Navy (16-14) made in his fourth season at the helm. Along with finishing second in the Patriot League, Navy snapped a 17-game losing streak to perennial power Holy Cross, and won at first-place American for the first time since 1991.
Navy was 34-52 in Lange?s first three years before posting its first winning season in seven years.
Navy set team single-season records in three-pointers made (288), three-pointers attempted (820), free throw percentage (.749).
“I knew we were going to be good,” Lange said. “It was just a matter of time. We deserve to be champions of this league just like anyone else. What?s disappointing is you finish a game out of first and now their season is over and they deserve to keep playing.”
Navy appears poised to remain a contender next season, as All-Patriot League second team selection guard Chris Harris and all-rookie team selection guard Romeo Garcia are expected to return next season.
But Navy?s best player, Greg Sprink, played his final game. The Patriot League?s Player of the Year finished the season with 653 points, the fourth-highest total in school history, behind future NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson (1985, 1986, 1987).
Sprink is on pace to graduate this spring after scoring 1,785 career points, third-most in school history.
“We?ve come a long way,” Sprink said. “We couldn?t even talk about winning my first season. We just talked about playing hard and playing our hearts out, playing together and playing for Navy. We did win a few, but we couldn?t talk about championships. We?ve come from we can?t talk about it because we didn?t have that foundation to having a chance at the NCAAs this year.”
