Navy?s young men?s basketball team has learned a lot over the last 29 games.
The Mids biggest lesson may come Wednesday night when it travels to Lewisburg, Pa. to face two-time defending league champion Bucknell in a quarterfinal game in the Patriot League tournament. Navy (14-15, 4-10 Patriot League) enters the tournament as the seventh seed, while Bucknell (20-8, 13-1) is the No. 2 seed.
“Bucknell is obviously a formidable team and we have the opportunity to do something really positive,” Navy coach Billy Lange said. “As a coach, you?d love to get a home game in this situation, but looking at the bigger picture we have the opportunity to teach this team a lot. The only way to become one of the elite teams in the Patriot League is to beat those elite teams.”
Navy comes into Wednesday?s game having lost two straight, including a 70-62 defeat Saturday at Colgate. That streak came after the Mids won three of four games earlier this month in response to a five-game losing streak before that.
Bucknell swept the season series against Navy, as the Bison won at home, 59-51 Jan. 6 before taking down the Mids, 78-63 Feb. 2 in Annapolis. The Bison have won 12 straight, including a 54-49 win Saturday at Army.
Senior center Chris McNaughton is one of the key players for Bucknell as the three-time All-Patriot League First Team selection averages 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. He is second in the Patriot League in field-goal percentage (.557) and also ranks fourth in rebounding and 11th in scoring.
Still, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery is definitely not taking Navy lightly, especially with the current play of Mids junior guard Greg Sprink. The All-Patriot League Second-Team selection leads Navy in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (4.8 rpg) and is coming off a season-high tying 29-point performance in Saturday?s loss at Colgate. He is the only Patriot League player to rank in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding and assists.
“They play so hard and their defense is unique,” Flannery said. “They have so many young kids out there to make for some really interesting matchups.”
NAVY NOTES
» Tip-off for Wednesday?s game is 7 p.m. at Bucknell
» Navy junior guard Greg Sprink became the school?s first All-Patriot League honoree when he made the conference?s second team.
» Navy freshman forward Trey Stanton earned a spot on this year?s Patriot League all-rookie team. The 6-foot-10 Friendswood, Texas native averaged 8.1 points ad 3.9 rebounds a game.
