Navy quickly is discovering it will go as far in the Patriot League as its three-point shooting will take it.
The Midshipmen?s latest proof came in a 69-67 loss to Army, which was sealed when guard Chris Harris missed a game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds on Sunday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
Navy?s performance, in which it shot just 11-of-33 from beyond the arc, was a stark contrast to the Midshipmen?s last outing, when they made 13 three-pointers en route to their first victory over Holy Cross in 18 games dating to 2000.
But against Army, the Midshipmen could not find their shooting touch in front of a capacity crowd of 5,710, especially in the second half. After Army jumped out to an 11-0 lead, the Midshipmen led by as many as nine in the second half despite making just 2-of-15 of their three-point shots.
Harris and senior guard Greg Sprink scored 20 points each for Navy (9-11, 2-3 Patriot League), which had no answer for Army guard Jarell Brown, who scored a game-high 35 points, including a game-winning layup with 13 seconds remaining.
The Midshipmen are in sixth place in the Patriot League, two games behind league-leading Lafayette (13-7, 4-1), entering Wednesday?s game at American (11-9, 3-2) at 7:30.
Army (9-10, 2-3) entered Sunday?s game as one of the Patriot League?s best defensive and worst offensive teams. But the Black Knights won for the second time in three games in Annapolis because they outscored Navy, 23-12, during the final 10 minutes ? a span in which Navy made just two field goals in the final 6:47.
“I thought we gave the game away with our offense,” Navy coach Billy Lange said. “Our toughness mentally, our shot selections and our passing were not there at times. You?ve got to give Army credit because a large part of that was because of them.”
Trailing 58-52 with 6:38 remaining, Army began its final comeback after Sprink came away with a steal only to miss a dunk on a fast break. Brown, who scored 14 of his team?s final 17 points, recovered the loose ball, and scored a layup while being fouled by Kaleo Kina. His free throw pulled Army to within 58-55 with 6:17 left, and gave the Black Knights the momentum they would not relinquish.
“I thought our guys hung in there,” Army coach Jim Crews said. “We started off fast and then let Navy in the game. Our turnovers, fouls and rebounding put us in the hole and once we cleaned that up good things started happening.”
Still, Navy had a chance to win ? until Harris, who has made a team-high 57 three-pointers this season, clanged the game-winning shot from the right wing off the rim.
“They didn?t come out on me and I had a great look,” Harris said. “I don?t feel like I was set and I missed the shot.”
