Navy?s offense had been everything Coach Billy Lange could have hoped for during its three-game winning streak entering Saturday?s game against visiting Longwood.
The Midshipmen had averaged 84.6 points in victories over UMES, St. Francis (N.Y.) and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Navy wasn?t nearly as explosive against Longwood, but the Midshipmen overcame a sloppy first half, and after being tied at 23 at halftime, went on to defeat the Lancers, 73-55, in front of 1,450 fans at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.
Guard Greg Sprink finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while guards Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina had 18 points and 5 assists each for Navy, which has won four straight for the first time in nearly seven years. Lange also had high praise for freshman guard Romeo Garcia, who had 10 rebounds.
“I thought our defensive intensity was tremendous tonight,” Lange said. “I thought we had a great team effort led by Romeo Garcia. It was just unbelievable stuff that doesn?t end up in the boxscore. I thought the rest of our guys fed off that. I was proud of our attitude how we responded to a tie game and come out and move the ball and take better care of the ball.”
In the first half, Navy (7-8) committed 13 turnovers and shot 24.1 percent from the field as Longwood rallied from a 19-12 deficit to go into halftime tied at 23. In the Lancers 11-4 run, guard Kevin Swecker (Mount St. Joseph) had five points, including a layup, which gave the Farmville, Va., team a brief 23-21 lead.
However, Navy opened the second half on a 25-7 run to put the game out of reach. The Midshipmen are now off until 7 p.m. Friday when it opens its Patriot League schedule at Bucknell.
“We really struggled offensively in the first half,” Harris said. “We just weren?t hitting shots. But, it was still a tied game because of how we played defense. We kept up the defensive intensity in the second half, and the shots started to fall and we started to move the ball better. That?s how it happens.”
Swecker led Longwood with 19 points and 6 rebounds, while guard Ryan Bogan had 12 points and 6 rebounds and forward Kirk Williams had 11 points and 9 rebounds. Longwood (4-14) has now lost four of its last five games. The Lancers also lost to the Midshipmen, 88-72, in Navy?s season-opener on Nov. 9.
The Lancers are in their first season as a Division I program after going through a four-year reclassification process. They are also one of just 10 programs nationally who have no conference affiliation.
rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.
