Mark Veazey’s career night put Navy in position for a huge win over Holy Cross on Wednesday night.
The sophomore center was forced to watch the final two minutes from the bench, after he fouled out. His teammates, however, made his effort count, as the Midshipmen hung onto a slim lead and made several late free throws to secure a 74-68 win over the Crusaders at Alumni Hall.
“It was hard to sit and watch,” Veazey said. “But that’s one of the things that I have to get better at. I was telling my teammates to close it out.”
Veazey scored eight of his career-high 20 points in the second half as the Midshipmen built a 67-62 lead. He also had seven rebounds and tied his career-high four blocks.
Holy Cross got as close as 70-68 with 23 seconds remaining, but Chris Harris responded with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession and the Crusaders never got closer.
“Chris is the one guy you don’t want to foul and let shoot free throws,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said.
Holy Cross finished with 54 points in the paint compared to just 18 for Navy, but was 0-of-13 from three-point range. The team failed to make a three in their first game since 1996, and had just one field goal outside the paint.
Navy (14-5, 3-1 Patriot League) entered the game in second place in the conference, trailing Holy Cross (8-11, 3-1) and American (11-6, 3-0). The victory over the Crusaders created a second-place tie, with the Eagles taking sole possession of first.
“It only counts as one game, and we need to get over it soon,” Navy coach Billy Lange said. “We have to look at the big picture. We have to be focused on getting better.”
