<p>Midshipmen get scoring act straight</p>
<p>By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published January 03, 2008</p>
<p>After struggling to score for most of the season, the Navy men’s basketball team has suddenly become an offensive juggernaut.</p>
<p>Junior guard Kaleo Kina equaled a season-high with 23 points to lead four players in double figures as Navy routed New Jersey Institute of Technology 84-55 before 1,075 at Alumni Hall last night.</p>
<p>Senior swingman Greg Sprink scored 19 points while sophomore point guard Chris Harris was 5-for-6 from 3-point range in netting 18 for Navy (6-8), which has won three straight. Freshman Romeo Garcia contributed a career-high 10 points for the Midshipmen, who registered their most lopsided victory over a Division I opponent since beating Mount St. Mary’s 95-54 on Dec. 30, 2001.</p>
<p>After scoring a season-high 88 points over Longwood in the season opener, Navy managed 71 or less in six of the next eight games. The Midshipmen shot less than 40 percent from the field in all six games in question.</p>
<p>It’s been a much different story lately with Navy averaging 82.5 points over the past four games. The Midshipmen have shot 48 percent over the last six games after managing to do so just twice in their initial eight.</p>
<p>“I think it’s the result of a few things. Obviously, we’re shooting the ball better and that’s the result of working repetitively on that in practice,” Navy head coach Billy Lange said. “Chris Harris is getting more comfortable at the point guard position and figuring out how to run our offense. Guys like Romeo Garcia are doing a great job moving the ball. We’re not fouling as much so we have been getting more offensive flow.”</p>
<p>Harris has been red hot from 3-point range, making 19 of his last 36 attempts from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>“I’m feeling good about my shot. It comes down to shot selection. If you get good shots, you should make them,” Harris said. “I feel like our chemistry has come a long way.We’re figuring out what Coach Lange wants. We are figuring out each other on the floor and have been sharing the ball real well.”</p>
<p>Adam Teague added eight points for the Mids, who shot a season-best 55.6 percent (30-for-54) from the field last night. The Midshipmen forced 23 turnovers and limited the visiting Highlanders to 40 percent shooting.</p>
<p>Nesho Milosevic, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward from Montenegro, had his way inside in totaling game-highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds for winless NJIT (0-16).</p>
<p>Kina drained a 3-pointer, was fouled and made the free throw for a rare four-point play to spark a strong run in the final five minutes as Navy took a 45-31 at halftime. The Highlanders scored the opening basket of the second half to pull within 12, but would get no closer the rest of the way as the Mids steadily pulled away.</p>
<p>Navy held NJIT to just 24 points in the second half and a season-low 55 for the game. Garcia, although just 6-foot-4, took over defending Milosevic in the second half and held him to six points by fronting and generally doing a good job of denying entry passes.</p>
<p>“Romeo had a fantastic game tonight,” Lange said. “He just brings so much energy, focus and intensity to the floor. He was working very hard in there and others fed off that.”</p>
<p>Milosevic scored on a mixture of layups, dunks and post moves in shooting 9-for-11 from the field. However, the rest of the Highlanders combined for just 30 points on 13-for-44 field goal shooting.</p>
<p>“I loved our second-half defense. I thought it was outstanding,” Lange said. “We did a great job helping out. We did a great job front the post. We had great ball pressure. We talked and kept the lane packed in.”</p>
<p>Navy had not won back-to-back games this season until putting together its current three-game winning streak. However, Lange said he’s more impressed to see the players executing what they learn in practice.</p>
<p>“We don’t really talk about winning a whole lot. We talk about the process and since day one it’s been about competing and playing,” Lange said. “Our guys are just figuring out ways to learn how to play together and how to compete. We have some deficiencies we need to continue to work on, but I like the way our guys have responded with positive attitude. They’re starting to hear things I’ve been saying for three years and it’s starting to be repeated out on the court. It helps our overall chemistry.”</p>
<p>NOTES: Lange said reserve guard Derek Young has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. The sophomore out of Archbishop Spalding sat out his fourth straight game last night and has not been practicing with the team. Young was averaging 4.6 points, 1.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 12.5 minutes through 10 games. Lange said there is a good chance the 6-foot-3, 198-pound resident of Seat Pleasant could rejoin the team.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Old Mill High graduate Andrew Engel is no longer a member of the New Jersey Institute of Technology program. Engel started all 29 games as a freshman. Assistant coach Wendell Alexis said Engel has transferred to a school in the Midwest.</p>
<p>NAVY 84, N.J. TECH 55</p>
<p>N.J. TECH (0-16)</p>
<p>Peters 2-6 0-0 4, Milosevic 9-11 7-11 25, Stonkus 1-4 0-3 2, Epps 2-6 0-0 6,
Magnus 1-3 0-0 2, Jefferson 0-1 0-0 0, Skema 1-2 0-0 2, Lyn 1-3 1-1 3,
Wilson 2-9 0-0 4, J.Garris 3-9 0-0 7, Edwards 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 22-55 8-17
55.</p>
<p>NAVY (6-8)</p>
<p>Veazey 0-0 0-0 0, Sprink 7-14 2-3 19, Harris 6-7 1-2 18, Garcia 3-5 4-4 10,
Kina 8-15 5-5 23, Brown 2-5 0-2 4, Topercer 0-0 0-0 0, Richards 1-3 0-0 2,
Brooks 0-1 0-0 0, Teague 3-4 1-2 8, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Biles 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 30-54 13-18 84.</p>
<p>Halftime-Navy 45-31. 3-Point Goals-N.J. Tech 3-17 (Epps 2-5, J.Garris 1-4,
Wilson 0-1, Jefferson 0-1, Lyn 0-1, Magnus 0-2, Peters 0-3), Navy 11-23
(Harris 5-6, Sprink 3-7, Kina 2-4, Teague 1-2, Brooks 0-1, Brown 0-1, Garcia
0-2). Fouled Out-J.Garris, Peters. Rebounds-N.J. Tech 29 (Milosevic 10),
Navy 33 (Kina 6). Assists-N.J. Tech 11 (Epps 5), Navy 13 (Kina, Teague 4).</p>