Navy Sports

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 7:53pm

Bucknell def. Navy, 65-50

For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Balanced Offensive Helps Bucknell to Win

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell had five players score in double figures to help the Bison post a 65-50 victory over the Navy women’s basketball team, Saturday night at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa.

The game could not have started better for Navy on the defensive end as the Mids held the Bison to 1-of-17 shooting over the opening nine minutes of the half. Navy couldn’t take advantage of the Bison drought, however, and could only build an 8-4 lead. The Mids still held a 10-6 advantage when it was Navy’s turn to struggle offensively, not scoring again for over five minutes and not connecting on a field goal for nearly six minutes.

During this time the Bison were able to take its largest lead of the half 11 points at 23-12 with 4:25 left in the half. The Mids climbed back into the game over the remainder of the half as Cassie Consedine scored eight of Navy’s next 15 points and a Kalen Kropa layup at the buzzer pulled Navy to within 32-27 at intermission.

The margin was six points (42-36) early in the second half when Bucknell slowly started to pull away from the Mids, gradually building a 54-40 lead and holding a double-digit advantage over the remainder of the game.

The Bison shot 43.5 percent from the floor, 50 percent from behind the three-point line (4-of-8) and converted 7-of-10 free throws on the night. Conversely, the Mids made 37 percent of their field goal attempts, were 4-of-14 in three-point attempts (28.6%) and made all six free throw attempts.

Bucknell also held a 41-30 advantage on the glass and forced Navy into 18 turnovers while turning the ball over 14 times itself.

After starting the game 1-of-17 from the floor, Bucknell was 26-of-45 in its remaining field goal attempts (57.7%).

“We had our opportunities tonight,” said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. “Once Bucknell found its rhythm offensively, though, we had a difficult time stopping them. Offensively we didn’t keep pace with them as we needed to.”

Individually for Navy, Consedine scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Kropa scored a career-high 13 points and set a season-high with eight assists.

Lauren Schober scored 17 points to lead Bucknell.

Navy fell to 5-18 on the year and 1-7 in Patriot League games with the loss, while Bucknell improved to 10-12 on the season and 5-3 in league games with the win.

Navy will play a pair of home games this coming week in Alumni Hall, first playing host to Lehigh Wednesday and followed by a Saturday game against Lafayette. Both games are slated to tip at 7 p.m.

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:03pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Drops 7-0 Decision at No. 75 Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Navy tennis team came up on the short end of a 7-0 loss to 75th-ranked Maryland on Saturday afternoon at the Tennis Center at College Park. The Midshipmen fell to 5-2 on the year, while the Terrapins improved to 2-0 on the young season.

This is the best Maryland team I have seen in my 24 years at the Naval Academy, stated Navy head coach John Officer. They are strong in every position. We need to go back to the drawing board and get a win tomorrow.

Navys best showing came at the No. 4 singles between Ramsey Lemaich (So./Danville, Calif.) and Boris Fetbroyt. Lemaich opened strong and won the first set, 6-3, before Fetbroyt came back to tie the match at one set apiece with a 6-2 victory in the second set. In the third and deciding set, Fetbroyt proved too much for Lemaich and won the set, 6-1.

The Midshipmen also competed against two of the regions top individual players on Saturday. Navys Nate Nelms (Jr./St. Marys, Ga.) took on Amit Inbar, who had a world ranking in the professional circuit, and fell by scores of 6-2 and 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Johnny Waters (Jr./Papillion, Neb.) opposed Andrew Orban, the 30th ranked player in the region, and fell in two sets, 6-1 and 6-2.

Owen Bullard (Fr./Concord, N.C.) bounced back from a 6-0 loss in the opening set at No. 6 singles against Michael Coleman to win the second set, 6-2. However, Coleman came back to pull out a 10-8 match tie-break victory over Bullard.

The Navy duo of Nelms and Waters were defeated on Orban and Fetbroyt, the 38th-ranked doubles tandem in the country, at No. 1 doubles by a score of 8-3. Navy No. 2 doubles team of Kyle Jones (Sr./Canton, Ohio) and Lemaich had a 5-2 advantage before Marylands Inbar and David Kwon rallied to win the match, 8-5.

The Midshipmen return to Annapolis to host UNC Greensboro on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Tose Family Tennis Center.

Doubles

Orban/Fetbroyt vs. Nelms/Waters: 8-3 (Maryland)
Inbar/Kwon vs. James/Lemaich: 8-5 (Maryland)
Nielsen/Coleman vs. Birger/Hall: 8-5 (Maryland)

Singles

Amit Inbar vs. Nate Nelms: 6-2, 6-3 (Maryland)
Andrew Orban vs. Johnny Waters: 6-1, 6-2 (Maryland)
David Kwon vs. Jason Hill: 6-4, 6-1 (Maryland)
Boris Fetbroyt vs. Ramsey Lemaich: 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 (Maryland)
Nickolai Nielsen vs. Alex James: 6-4, 6-3 (Maryland)
Michael Coleman vs. Owen Bullard: 6-0, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) (Maryland)

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:10pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Falls at Princeton, 183-109

PRINCETON, N.J. Navys Adam Meyer (So./Bethesda, Md.) won one event and placed among the top-three finishers in two other events, but proved to not be enough as Princeton handed the Midshipmen a 183-109 loss at DeNunzio Pool on Saturday afternoon.

The Midshipmen, who defeated Columbia yesterday in Annapolis, conclude the regular season with a 15-2 overall record and a 6-2 mark in EISL action. The Mids will end up no worse than third in the EISL standings this year, their highest finish since the 1997-98 season. The Tigers improved to 98-0 in the 16-year history of dual meets held at DeNunzio Pool.

Princeton had a strong day and we werent as strong as I would have liked, stated Navy head coach Bill Roberts. We had great effort for competing on back-to-back days, but this wasnt the performance we expected today. We now look forward to preparing for the championship meets coming up.

Meyer paced the field in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:51.66, 0.30-second ahead of Princetons Christopher Quemena. Meyer also placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a 1:50.18 showing and finished with a clocking of 2:06.20 in the 200-yard breaststroke for third place.

Olaf Olson (Fr./Bainbridge Island, Wash.) delivered a Navy victory on the three-meter diving board, as he tallied 339.90 points to finish 6.53 points ahead of Princetons Stuart Malcolm. Jon Galinski (Jr./Phoenix, Md.) produced a second-place score of 296.24 points on the one-meter springboard earlier in the day.

Erik Hunter (Fr./Placerville, Calif.) produced the teams top time in both of the distance freestyle events. Hunter placed second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:36.76 and came in third during the 1,000-yard freestyle with a 9:26.76 showing.

One day after winning two individual events, Alex Oldenkamp (Jr./Coppell, Texas) finished among the hunt for event victories in the short freestyle events on Saturday. Oldenkamp placed third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.14 seconds, just 0.04-second off the first-place time. He would come back to produce a 46.63-second, third-place showing in the 100-yard freestyle, only 0.41-second longer than the fastest time of the day.

Navy recorded two other victories in the latter portion of the meet. Andrew Hetzner (So./Riverside, Calif.) won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.31 seconds. The Midshipmen 200-yard freestyle relay of Nathan Durham (Jr./Greensboro, N.C.), Frank Komadina (So./Gilbert, Ariz.), Joe Unruh (Jr./Orinda, Calif.) and Jack Curran (So./Silver Spring, Md.) tallied first-place points with a 1:26.30 clocking.

The Midshipmen will return to action on Feb. 21-23, when they play host to the Patriot League Championship in Lejeune Hall.

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:11pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Kaleo Kina, Greg Sprink and Chris Harris combined for 68 points and all three players hit clutch shots down the stretch to lead Navy to a 78-72 victory over Bucknell. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bison and Navy improved to 11-12 overall and 4-4 in the Patriot League. Navy sits just one full game out of first place after tonight’s action.

The game was played in front of 3,233 fans, the largest non-Army crowd at Alumni Hall since Nov. 18, 2005, vs. Georgetown.

“I, first off, want to give credit to our crowd tonight. They were just awesome tonight,” said Navy head coach Billy Lange. “They have been very patient with our program and tonight, they helped us in some key stretches. They were a difference tonight.”

Kina carried the Mids early by scoring 19 first-half points en route to a career-high 27 points. He was 7-of-11 from the field in the opening 20 minutes and finished the contest with four assists and three steals. He surpassed his career-high 24 points set earlier in the year against Bucknell.

In the first half of the two games against Bucknell, Kina scored a combined 36 points.

“I just want to win. It doesn’t matter who we are playing,” said Kina. “I was just the beneficiary of good ball movement tonight.”

“Kaleo had a great floor game for us and was the recipient of our ball movement,” said Lange. “Once our offense got going, our defense improved. The movement was the best we have had in quite some time.”

The Mids fell behind early, 8-0, just two minutes into the contest. Bucknell would take its biggest lead of the game at 19-10 with 13:25 to play in the first half, but the Mids closed the half on a 29-13 run over the last 13 minutes, highlighted by a deep Harris three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give Navy a 39-32 halftime lead.

Navy would lead the entire second half, fueled late in the game by three key plays in the final five minutes. With Navy holding a five-point lead (66-61) with three minutes to play, Kina hit a pull-up 18-footer to push the lead back to seven at 68-61.

Bucknell would score the next five points to trim the lead to 68-66, but Sprink connected on a three-pointer from the corner with 1:54 to play to push the lead back to five, 71-66.

Lastly, with Bucknell still within two at 73-71, Harris connected on a deep three-pointer to bump the lead back to five at 76-71. The Mids would close out the game by making a pair of free throws in the final 24 seconds.

“Those guys (Bucknell) know how to win. This is new to us. It was very encouraging that we made big plays down the stretch. When our moment comes, we needed to stay together and stay focused and we did that,” said Lange. “We need maturity and knowing what it takes to get it done. Our defense was as good as it has been in a while tonight.”

The win even further jumbles an already-jumbled Patriot League. Lafayette and American still lead the league (by percentage points) with a 5-3 record. Every team in the Patriot League is within two-and-a-half games of each other.

“There are good coaches and good players in the league. It is almost too competitive, because everyone knows each other so well,” said Lange. “Programs are growing and gaining confidence and every game is a battle. We have been in tight games and I want this year’s team to be the team to learn how to get through those.”

Navy also kept its streak alive of alternating wins and losses in its eight Patriot League games.

“I don’t know what it is. I think we get a little too excited and too pumped up,” said Lange. “Whatever it is, we just have to know that every game is important and get ready to play again on Wednesday night.”

Besides Kina’s 27 points, Sprink scored 22 points and Harris added 19. The trio scored 68 of Navy’s 78 points and took 48 of Navy’s 57 shots from the field. With his 22 points, Sprink not only eclipsed the 1,600-point mark for his career, but moved into 10th place on the all-time Patriot League scoring list.

Meanwhile, Chris Harris’ four three-pointers gave him 66 for the season, tied for the second most in school history.

Navy shot 27-of-57 (.474) from the field, including 10-of-24 (.417) from three-point range. Navy was just 14-of-25 (.560) from the free throw line. Navy entered the contest shooting 74.8 percent from the free throw line. The Mids turned the ball over just 12 times.

Bucknell was 21-of-48 (.436) from the field and 10-of-21 (.476) from three-point distance. Bucknell went 20-of-29 (.690) from the free throw line, but turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 24 Navy points off turnovers. Bucknell outrebounded the Mids, 39-32.

The Mids will look for their second win in a row on Wednesday night at Lehigh, tipping off at 7:00 pm. The game will be aired tape-delayed on MASN on Thursday at 10:00 am.

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:12pm

Navy def. UNC Greensboro, 7-0

For Immediate Release
Sent Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy Tennis Team Sweeps UNC Greensboro

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy tennis team improved its record to 6-2 on the season with a 7-0 victory over UNC Greensboro, Sunday afternoon at the Tose Family Tennis Center.

“It was good for us to bounce back after Saturday’s match (a 7-0 loss to No. 75 Maryland),” said Navy head coach John Officer. “Greensboro has a very competitive team and they beat us last year, so for a number of reasons we were eager for today’s match. I felt everyone played exceptionally well today. This is a good confidence boost for us heading into the second half of the winter season.”

Just like last year’s match between the two teams, Navy won the doubles point Sunday. The Mids secured the point with victories at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles before a tight No. 2 doubles match was completed. Eventually, Navy’s duo of Alex James (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) and Ramsey Lemaich (So., Danville, Calif.) were able to defeat the team of William John and Yaroslav Litus, 9-8, with the Mids winning the tiebreaker by the score of 7-3.

Unlike last year, however, when the Spartans proceeded to win four of the six singles matches to hand the Mids a 4-3 defeat, Navy quickly won four singles matches in straight sets to clinch the team victory. The score soon became 6-0 when James overcame a 5-2 deficit in the second set of his match at No. 5 singles against Taylor Befus to record a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.

That left the match of the day between Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary’s, Ga.) and Andrey Bubnov at the No. 1 flight still on the court. Bubnov, who posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nelms last year in Greensboro, took a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Nelms proceeded to break Bubnov’s serve twice and hold serve once to win the next three games and tie the set at 5-5. Bubnov promptly broke Nelms to go up 6-5, then held serve to win the first set by the score of 7-5.

After Bubnov took a 4-3 lead midway through the second set, Nelms won the next three games to win the set by the score of 6-4. A 10-point tiebreaker was used in place of a complete third set and it began with Bubnov winning three of the opening four points. As he did throughout the over two and one-half hour match, Nelms rallied and won the next six points to take a 7-3 lead. The players traded points to make the score 8-4 then, after Bubnov won the ensuing point to cut the margin to 8-5, Nelms tallied back-to-back points to end the marathon.

The win improved Navy’s record to 2-1 on the season against teams who had defeated the Mids during the 2007 campaign. Navy previously posted a 6-1 victory over Georgetown (after dropping a 5-2 decision to the Hoyas last year) and lost to Maryland (a 6-1 Navy loss in 2007).

Navy will face St. Joseph’s (12 Noon) and George Mason (5 p.m.) this coming Saturday at the Tose Family Tennis Center.

Navy def. UNC Greensboro, 7-0
Doubles (Navy wins the doubles point)

Nelms/Waters, Johnny (N) def. Bubnov/Kumdereli, 8-3
James/Lemaich (N) def. John/Litus, 9-8 (7-4)
Nick Birger/Hill (N) def. Befus/Clark, 8-4
Singles
Nate Nelms (N) def. Andrey Bubnov, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
Johnny Waters (N) def. Arsel Kumdereli, 6-4, 6-1
Jason Hill (N) def. Yaroslav Litus, 6-3, 6-1
Ramsey Lemaich (N) def. William John, 6-2, 6-4
Alex James (N) def. Taylor Befus, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Joseph Wiggins (N) def. Andrew Clark, 6-1, 6-1

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:18pm

By Patrick Stevens
February 10, 2008

ANNAPOLIS Most college lacrosse teams will wait another week or two before starting the regular season.

No. 9 Navy was glad to get an early jump yesterday.

Tim Paul and Sean Standen both scored twice as the new-look Midshipmen rolled to a 10-2 victory over VMI before 2,133 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

“It’s a lot different putting on uniforms and playing for real,” Navy coach Richie Meade said. “It’s a different feeling and a different mentality. I’m happy we had the opportunity to get through it. I thought this was a good thing for our team.”

Navy (1-0) broke in several new starters. The Mids lost two of their top three scorers from last season, as well as their top faceoff man (William Wallace) and their starting goalie (Colin Finnegan).

The Mids played a bit tight early but ripped off four goals in the third quarter to open a 4-1 game. Junior goalie Matt Coughlin, who played less than 14 minutes before yesterday, made seven saves in his first career start.

It was the first of three games scheduled for yesterday, which is believed to be the earliest start date in Division I history.

“It’s earlier and earlier every year,” defenseman Jordan DiNola said. “It’s crazy. Everything in lacrosse starts earlier now, but we’re ready to go.”

That was especially true on defense, where the Mids return two starters and two experienced poles. Navy forced 21 turnovers and allowed only seven shots in the first three quarters to the Keydets (0-1).

“Whenever they only get two, you have a good chance to win,” Meade said. “Our goal is to hold everyone to two, I guess.”

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:21pm

Midshipmen trio sinks Bison

By Tom Housenick
The Daily Item

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Bucknell’s game Saturday night at Navy should have been a feast fit for Bugs Bunny.

The Rabbits, uh, Bison, had head coach Pat Flannery back on the bench after a two-game absence for medical reasons, a chance to take over first place in the Patriot League and were coming off an amazing comeback win over Colgate earlier in the week.

But, Elmer Fudd won this battle.

The Midshipmen continued their roller-coaster ride through the league and, maybe, just maybe, got the quality win they needed to propel themselves to the next level under coach Billy Lange.

Navy’s big trio of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris stayed in the game long enough to make big shots throughout its 78-72 victory at Alumni Hall.

Kina had a career-high 27 points, 19 in the first half to get the Midshipmen back into the game, and Harris and Sprink made big three-point shots in the last two minutes to hold off the Bison, who never led after the 3:56 mark of the first half.

It was at that point that Kina finished a spurt in which he scored 18 of the team’s 21 points – and much of it came with Sprink on the bench with two fouls.

Navy never relinquished the lead and now it is the Bison searching for answers.

“We’re still trying to develop a personality of how we’re going to play,” Flannery said. "With 1:14 left, it was two (points down) and Sprink gets two free throws.

“I would have liked to have been down two or three with possession and see
what happened.”

Bucknell didn’t have the ball with a chance to tie in the game’s final 12 minutes.

Down 10 with 4:01 left, the Bison made several charges. Darryl Shazier had a three-pointer followed by a steal and layup to them within 68-66 with 2:18 showing.

But Sprink hit a baseline three-pointer to counter.

Darren Mastropaolo’s two free throws got Bucknell within three. Sprink then made two of his own after it seemed as though Stephen Tyree had stripped him of the ball.

Justin Castleberry’s three-point play again had the Bison knocking at 73-71 with 57 second left.

But Kina drove and kicked it to Harris, who drained a three-point dagger at the 35-second mark.

“When that moment came where we have been before, (the Midshipmen) huddled up and had that look in their eyes where they refused to lose,” Navy coach Billy Lange said. "I was like, just don’t crumble.'

“This is what we needed to do, this was a step in our progression.”

Navy (11-12 overall, 4-4 PL) has sputtered with the chance to take a step forward this season, alternating wins and losses through eight league games.

Bucknell (10-13, 5-4) has had similar momentum issues this season. After Lafayette lost earlier Saturday, Bucknell could have taken sole possession of first place with a win. Instead the Bison are in a log jam with Army, Navy and today’s Lehigh/American loser for third place.

“We keep making mental mistakes that bury us,” senior John Griffin said after scoring a team-high 19 points. “It’s nothing the other teams are doing to us. We’re beating ourselves.”

Navy’s big trio combined for 68 of its 78 points. Sprink added 22 points in 30 minutes and Harris had 19. In the first meeting between the teams, Kina was left out there by himself for much of the second half because Harris and Sprink had foul problems.

This time, Kina changed the complexion of the game when only one of the other two were sitting on the bench.

“He puts his head down and drives,” Flannery said of Kina. “He’s a big, strong kid who goes to the hole. And when Rob (Thomas) got in foul trouble, we had some matchup problems.”

Bucknell had a pair of 8-0 runs early in the first half to jump out to a 19-10 lead.

Then Kina got hot. He finished a 13-4 run with a three-pointer at the 5:53 mark to give Navy its first lead at 26-25.

Kina hit a three-pointer and a jumper to fuel a 13-2 burst to finish the half. Harris hit a three-pointer with two seconds left for a 39-32 Midshipmen lead at the break.

The Bison, who made three of their last 14 field goal attempts before the break, stayed within striking distance by making eight of 11 free throws in the final 8:23.

NOTES: Navy ended a seven-game losing streak in the series and leads it 30-24. … Bucknell junior Josh Linthicum didn’t dress for the ninth consecutive game because of a knee injury. … Bison junior Jason Vegotsky had three points in eight minutes in his return from a one-game absence because of injury. … Navy was 0-4 when leading at the half before Saturday. … Mastropaolo had a season-high 12 points and seven rebounds for Bucknell. Castleberry and Tyree also had 12 points. … The Bison had a 39-32 rebounding edge over the league’s worst rebounding team. … Bucknell committed 22 turnovers, its second-highest total this season. … The crowd of 3,233 fans was the largest non-Army total since a Nov. 18, 2005 game against Georgetown. … Kina’s previous career-high total was 24, against Bucknell earlier this season. In that game, he had 17 in the first half. He had 19 before the break Saturday.

GreatAmerican · February 10, 2008, 8:23pm

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Saturday, February 9, 2008) * Towson goaltender Darren DeLullo made 40 saves, including 19 in the third period, to lead the Tigers¹ ice hockey team to the championship of the 31st annual Crabpot Tournament with a 4-1 victory over host Navy Saturday night at the McMullen Hockey Arena.

For his play in Saturday night¹s championship game, as well as his 32-save effort in Towson¹s win over the University of Maryland on Friday, DeLullo (Millersville, MD) was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.

The Tigers (now 12-13-1) jumped out to an early lead in the game¹s first five minutes and the Midshipmen were never able to recover. Sophomore Jon Scharff put Towson ahead 1-0 with an even strength goal at 3:10, and freshman Andrew Higgins (Centreville, MD) gave the white, black, and gold clad visitors a 2-0 lead with a power play tally at 4:18.

Navy (now 14-17-1) cut the deficit in half early in the second period when junior Matt Swezey knocked in the rebound of a shot by senior Donnie Horner at the 2:58 mark. It was Swezey¹s 19th goal of the season. The Cohoes, New York native also registered a goal and three assists in the Mids¹ 8-3 win over UMBC Friday night.

But the Tigers put the game out of reach before the second stanza concluded on the strength of a pair of power play goals from junior Robert Plant (Annapolis, MD). Plant¹s first tally at 12:58 put Towson up, 3-1, and his second goal came with just 10 seconds remaining in the period. As a result of those two tallies and an assist on Scharff¹s goal, Plant was named the championship game¹s Most Valuable Player.

Navy sophomore goaltender Eric Anderson stopped 31 of the 35 Towson shots he faced, while his counterpart DeLullo recorded 40 saves on 41 Navy shots.

The Mids are idle until this Friday (February 15) when the play in the opening round of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) tournament at the McMullen Hockey Arena in Annapolis. Game time and opponent will be determined by ESCHL league officials no later than Monday.

SCORING SUMMARY

Towson 2 2 0 - 4

NAVY 0 1 0 - 1

First Period

T * Scharff (Valvano, Plant) 3:10

T * Higgins (Wetzel, Schlagenhauf) 4:18 (pp)

Second Period

N * Swezey 19 (Horner) 2:58

T * Plant (Valvano) 12:58 (pp)

T * Plant (Caruso) 19:50 (pp)

Third Period

None

SAVES

DeLullo (Towson) 16 5 19 - 40

Anderson (NAVY) 7 16 8 - 31

SHOTS

Towson 9 18 8 - 35

NAVY 16 6 19 - 41

GreatAmerican · February 11, 2008, 3:44pm

Chesapeake lineman caught the eye of Navy’s Green

[Mids</a>, Campbell a perfect match - Navy Sports - (HometownAnnapolis.com)](<a href=“http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/02_11-19/NAS]Mids”>http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/02_11-19/NAS)

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 6:29am

Mids get jump on VMI

By SEAN BURNS For The Capital
Published February 10, 2008

With sunny skies and temperatures that reached into the 50’s, yesterday’s game between Navy and VMI felt more like mid-April than the earliest season-opening game in Navy lacrosse history.

Though they looked a bit tentative in the first half, the Midshipmen, ranked No. 12 in the preseason by the USLIA, came away with a convincing 10-2 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

“You know, February’s kind of early… where I came from, we never started lacrosse until March,” said Navy senior attackman Nick Mirabito, who had two assists and a goal. “But we were ready to go, so it was good to play today.”

Eight different players scored for the Midshipmen, whose starting lineup had a combined 42 goals last season - 36 of which came from Mirabito and sophomore Tim Paul.

“We had a lot of inexperienced players, and I think that showed a little bit early on,” Navy coach Richie Meade said. “I think we did a great job of spreading things around a bit. We didn’t have one guy scoring five goals, but that’s not going to happen with this team.”

Paul got things started just over six minutes into the game with the first of his two goals off a feed from Andy Warner on a play that got started with a great outlet pass from junior goalie Matt Coughlin. Patrick Moran, Shane Durkin and Joe Lennon added unassisted goals for the Midshipmen before the half, while VMI managed just one score, a one-handed shot off a dodge from behind the net by Kevin Hill.

While the Navy defense was just as stingy in the second half, the offense got rolling in the third quarter, adding four unanswered goals to make it a 8-1 contest going into the final frame.

“We just put the ball on goal a little better in the second half,” Mirabito said. “We were taking good shots all game, but just weren’t finishing. Once we got that ball rolling, I think it snowballed for us a little bit.”

Sean Standen scored his second goal of the game in the fourth quarter to make it a 10-1 game before the Keydets closed out the scoring with a Brett Leonard goal.

Statistically, the Midshipmen dominated every aspect of the contest, holding steep advantages in shots (35-21), ground balls (38-21) and faceoffs (10-4; Mikelis Visgauss went 5-for-5 and Frankie Coppola went 5-for-7).

“We were not taking VMI lightly; we watched film, we talked to other coaches about what they do,” Meade said. "I was pleased with our effort today.

“Any time you hold another team to two goals, you’ve got a pretty good chance of winning… I guess our goal is to hold everybody else to two.”

Despite the loss, VMI head coach Kevin Shirk - a former Maryland midfielder who was a head coach at the Naval Academy Preparatory School where some current Mids players spent a postgraduate year - was pleased with his team’s showing against one of the top-ranked teams in Division I.

“You walk into this venue and sometimes guys will get awestruck, but our guys didn’t,” he said. “We played hard right from the get-go and that made me happy.”

VMI (0-1) 0 1 0 1 - 2

Navy (1-0) 3 1 4 2 - 10

GOALS: VM - Leonard, Hill; N - Paul 2, Standen 2, Mirabito, Warner, Lennon, Moran, Durkin, Lennon. ASSISTS: VM - Moran; N - Mirabito 2, Guido, Warner. SAVES: VM - McCoy 11; N - Coughlin 7. SHOTS: VM - 21; N - 35. FACEOFFS: VM -
4; N - 10; GROUND BALLS: VM - 21; N - 38.

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 6:35am

The MAISA (Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association) Fall 2007 Rankings have placed the Navy Intercollegiate sailing team fourth in the district. In addition, Navy had six sailors chosen as All-MAISA team members. Martin Sterling was chosen as an All-MAISA co-ed skipper, Charlotte Hill and Megan Magill were chosen as All-MAISA women skippers, Maggie Reynolds, Kristen Sproat and Jenny Sturzbecher were chosen as All-MAISA crews. The Mids compete in one of our nation’s toughest districts, and all of these sailors will be looked upon as leaders on the water as Navy begins its championship season.

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 7:13am

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published February 10, 2008

It was an odd fact that really bothered head coach Billy Lange and the players on the Navy men’s basketball team.

Navy led at halftime in all four of its Patriot League losses this season. It was a discouraging situation that pointed toward an ability to protect a lead and finish off games.

The Midshipmen finally got that monkey off their collective back last night, along with a couple others.

Junior guard Kaleo Kina poured in a career-high 27 points to lead Navy to a 78-72 victory over Bucknell before a boisterous crowd of 3,233 at Alumni Hall. Senior swingman Greg Sprink scored 22 points while sophomore point guard Chris Harris contributed 19 for the Midshipmen, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bison.

“Tonight we found a way to win a close, tough game. We have talked about the fact when that key moments comes in the game, the players need to look each other in the eye and refuse to lose,” Lange said. “This shows we are maturing and learning how to win close games.”

Kina made 11 of 18 field goals in helping Navy improve to 11-12 overall and 4-4 in the Patriot League. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder drove to the basket with determination and made several circus shots in the lane en route to surpassing his previous career high of 24 points, set earlier this season against Bucknell.

“(Kina) is a tough matchup when he puts his head down and drives the way he did. He really takes the ball to the hole hard,” said Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery, who returned to the bench after missing two games with an undisclosed illness.

Kina also had four assists and three steals while committing only two turnovers. He carried Navy in the first half by scoring 19 points.

“I thought (Kina’s) floor game was tremendous tonight and he was a warrior. He was driving the ball strong and being aggressive. He was also the recipient of our ball moving better than it has in two weeks,” Lange said.

Navy entered the contest having lost three of four Patriot League games at home. That was another embarrassing statistic that improved last night thanks to the largest non-Army audience at Alumni Hall since a November, 2005 game against Georgetown.

“The crowd tonight was awesome. Our fans have been so patient with the progress of our program and I applaud them for sticking with us,” Lange said. “Tonight was the first night in a long time that our fans helped us in key stretches. Kudos to the marketing department for working so hard to make this a Division I environment. Their efforts really paid off tonight.”

Sprink scored 16 of his points in the second half and came up big down the stretch, drilling a pullup 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining and calmly swishing two free throws at the 1:14 mark.

Harris provided the final dagger, nailing a long 3-pointer with 35.5 second left to give Navy a 76-68 lead. Harris shot 4-for-9 from beyond the arc and now stands second on the school’s single-season list with 66 3-pointers.

Kina canned a clutch jumper with 2:51 remaining and assisted Harris on his crucial 3-pointer.

“It was nice to see our three main guys step up in succession and make big shots,” Lange said.

Senior guard John Griffin shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range in scoring 19 points for Bucknell (10-13, 5-4), which has lost three of its last four Patriot League games. Darren Mastropaolo, Justin Castleberry and Stephen Tyree all netted 12 points for the Bison, who committed 22 turnovers and were hurt by a five-minute scoreless stretch from 14:29 to 9:29 of the second half.

“Our defense was as good as it’s been in a long time,” said Lange, who was critical of Navy’s effort on that end of the floor following last Saturday’s loss to Colgate. “For us to force Bucknell into 22 turnovers is really impressive.”

Flannery acknowledged the two long droughts in each half were costly and was clearly annoyed by the fact his team had its second-highest turnover total of the season.

“Our shot selection at times was poor and we obviously didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball,” he said. “It was not any more pressure than we’ve seen. We gave up some easy turnovers.”

Navy continues to alternate wins and losses in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen will seek their first two-game winning streak in conference play on Wednesday night at Lehigh.

“This is definitely a big win for our program. Beating Bucknell is very gratifying,” said Kina, aware that Navy had lost 10 of the last 11 in the series entering last night. “What we’ve go to do is get a little streak going not this one win, one loss stuff.”

Kina poured in 19 first-half points for Navy, which rallied from an early 8-0 deficit. The Midshipmen closed the half by outscoring the Bison 13-2 with Harris nailing a deep 3-pointer as time expired to give the hosts a 39-32 lead at intermission.

Bucknell led by nine points at the 13:25 mark, but Navy came back despite the fact leading scorer Greg Sprink sat the final nine minutes after picking up two quick fouls.

NAVY 78, BUCKNELL 72

BUCKNELL (10-13)

Mastropaolo 2-5 8-8 12, Thomas 2-4 0-0 5, Castleberry 4-11 2-3 12,Griffin
5-8 4-5 19, Tyree 3-6 6-10 12, O’Brien 1-2 0-0 2,Shazier 2-6 0-0 5, Vegotsky
1-4 0-0 3, Boon 0-1 0-3 0, Behan 1-1 0-0 2,Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48
20-29 72.

NAVY (11-12)

Veazey 0-1 1-2 1, Sprink 6-13 7-10 22, Harris 7-17 1-2 19,Garcia 1-2 2-2 4,
Kina 11-18 2-4 27, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Colbert 2-5 0-2 4,Topercer 0-0 0-1 0,
Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Teague 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 27-57 14-25 78.

Halftime-Navy 39-32. 3-Point Goals-Bucknell 10-21 (Griffin 5-7,Castleberry
2-6, Thomas 1-1, Shazier 1-2, Vegotsky 1-3, Boon 0-1, Tyree0-1), Navy 10-24
(Harris 4-9, Kina 3-6, Sprink 3-7, Teague 0-1, Colbert0-1). Fouled
Out-Sprink, Thomas. Rebounds-Bucknell 39 (Tyree 9), Navy 32(Topercer 6).
Assists-Bucknell 14 (Thomas 4), Navy 14 (Kina 4). TotalFouls-Bucknell 19,
Navy 24. A-3,233.

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 7:20am

By MIKE MOREA For The Capital
Published February 10, 2008

The Naval Academy hockey team was able to open the new McMullen Hockey arena, but lacked the discipline to bring home its 11th Crabpot Trophy in the 31-year existence of the tournament. Three power play goals, one with a two-man advantage, powered Towson University to a 4-1 victory over the Midshipmen in the 31st Annual Crabpot Tournament. The win was the Tigers’ third championship effort since 1999, with the last being in 2000.

This year’s tournament pitted four Maryland-based schools, with UMBC and Maryland also participating in the two-day event. It marked the first time in the history of the tournament that all four combatants were from the state, similar to the annual Beanpot Tournament held in Boston each year. That event brings in Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard.

“Being one of the local kids and having a bunch playing this weekend, it was awesome to come here,” said tournament Most Valuable Player Darren Delullo, who hails from Millersville. “It was actually fun playing against everybody again.”

The junior goaltender made a combined 72 saves in back-to-back nights, with 40 of them coming in the championship tilt.

Sophomore Jon Scharff got things started for Towson with its first tally only 3:10 into the first period. Juniors Christian Valvano and Bobby Plant provided the assists for an early 1-0 lead.

Centreville native Andrew Higgins made it 2-0 just over a minute later with a power play goal, with junior Chris Wetzel and freshman Tim Schlagenhauf getting were credit for the assists, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead after the opening period.

Junior Matt Swezey cut the deficit in half for Navy with 2:58 gone in the second period off of a pass from senior Donnie Horner III to make it 2-1 Towson. But after that, the discipline wheels started to fall off the Mids machine, as they were whistled for eight penalties in the next 16 minutes, with two being 10-minute misconduct calls. It also included a pair of penalties occurring at the same time, providing Towson with a two-man advantage.

Player of the Game Bobby Plant made Navy pay for the first lapse with 7:02 left in the second, with the assist going to Valvano. Plant, a senior from Annapolis, put the nail in Navy’s coffin with his second power play tally.

“We did play a little uncharacteristically undisciplined. The referees certainly aren’t going to win or lose the game, but they can affect the pace of the game,” Navy head coach Mike Fox said. “There is no excuse for us to lose our heads, but it did take our minds off the game. That is my fault. I am responsible to make sure these guys are disciplined better than they were tonight.”

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 7:29am

By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of Hoop Time

The nervous young Midshipman Fourth Class stood ramrod straight Saturday night at center court of Navy¹s Alumni Hall and began to sing. A few bars into his song, his voice trailed off as he forgot the words. He didn¹t exactly stop mid-song, he just skipped a beat or two, regained his composure and belted out the rest of the Stars Spangled Banner as wonderfully as any Broadway tenor has ever performed it at Yankee Stadium.

His voice was rich, bold and full. By the time he finished, the crowd, which gave him a loud ovation, barely remembered the early gaffe. It was a mere footnote to a fine performance.

It was a lot like the way his fellow Midshipmen performed on the same court in in their 78-72 win over Bucknell that followed his symbolic musical overture.

After a slow start where they spotted Bucknell an 8-0 lead and forced coach Billy Lange to burn two timeouts in the first six minutes, the Midshipmen found their stride and finished strong, much to the delight of the biggest crowd to voluntarily witness a Navy game in Alumni Hall in at least two seasons, probably longer.

It was the largest Navy crowd for a Patriot League game against anybody other than Army (when attendance is mandatory for all Midshipmen) in the Billy Lange era. Aside from those Army games, the only time the Mids have drawn more folks in Lange¹s three-plus seasons was for its 2005-2006 season-opener against Georgetown. None of the veteran observers in Annapolis could remember a crowd that was louder than Saturday night¹s 3,233, or one that left the yard with more collective smiles on their faces following a game.

“Our crowd tonight was awesome,” said Lange. “They really helped us in some key stretches.”

Of course the crowd had plenty of inspiration from Lange¹s team, especially the trio of Kaleo Kina, Greg Sprink and Chris Harris, who combined for 68 of Navy’s 78 points.

“It starts with me, Greg and Chris,” said Kina, who led the way with a brilliant career-high 27-point performance. “It just came my way a little bit. I felt it a little and put it up and they were going in.”

In the first half, Kina singlehandedly got the Midshipmen back into the game, scoring 13 of Navy¹s first 26 points, including the three-pointer that gave the Mids their first lead of the game with 5:50 to go in the half. And after Bucknell retook the lead with a quick 5-0 spurt, Kina took it back with 5 straight points of his own, including a jumper with 3:56 left that put the Mids on top to stay.

“His floor game other than one turnover was tremendous,” said Lange, who quickly added praise for the guys who gave Kina the ball. “He was the recipient of the ball moving better than it has the last two weeks.”

It was Kina¹s second straight big first half against Bucknell. The 6-4 junior from Phoenix, Az. had 17 in the first half at Lewisburg back on Jan. 11. The Midshipmen led at the half of that game, just like they have led in all four of their league losses so far, but wilted after the break when Sprink and Harris got in foul trouble.

This time the Mids were the beneficiary of some Bucknell foul problems. When 6-3 senior Rob Thomas picked up a pair in the first half, the undersized Bison were hard pressed to matchup with Kina.

“He is a tough matchup when he puts his head down and drives. He is a big, strong kid and he really goes to the hole,” said Bison coach Pat Flannery, who returned to the bench after missing two games with an undisclosed ailment that forced him to leave the game in the second half of Bucknell¹s Jan. 30 loss to Lehigh. “We had some matchup problems and they exploited it.”

Kina slowed down a little after the intermission, but Sprink, the league¹s top scorer, picked up the slack, scoring 16 of his 22 in the second half, including a crucial three-pointer with 1:54 to go that took some of the wind out of Bucknell¹s sails after the Bison had cut a 10-point deficit to 2.

Down 66-56, thanks in no small part to a stretch of 5:37 without a field goal in the middle portion of the second half, Bucknell put together a 10-2 run and seemed to have turned the tide after freshman Daryl Shazier followed his first made shot of the game a three-pointer from the top of the arc by stepping in front of a Harris pass and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup, prompting Lange to call a quick 30-second timeout.

The Bison cut it to 2 again on an old-fashioned and-one three-point play by Justin Castleberry with 57 seconds to go. But Harris answered with his fourth three of the game and Bucknell could get no closer. Harris finished with 19 points and moved into a tie with Sprink for second on Navy¹s all-time single season three-pointers list with that final trey. Sprink, whose three triples gave him 56 on the year, tying Erik Harris for the ninth spot on that list, had 66 last season. For those studying for an upcoming trivia contest, Jimmy Hamilton holds the Mids¹ single season mark with the 76 he hit in 1994.

It wasn¹t all offense for the Midshipmen. A week after Lange chastised his team for its poor defensive effort, the Mids forced 22 Bucknell turnovers, the Bison¹s second highest number of giveaways all season. Navy converted those turnovers into 22 points.

“Our defense was as good as it has been in a while,” said Lange.

The turnovers were the difference in the game. In the first 8:24 of the game, Bucknell was 8 for 14 from the field and turned the ball over just twice. Then the turnovers, and the missed shots, began to pile up. The Bison went 1 for 11 the rest of the half and turned it over 8 times in that span, including 4 in the last 5:34 of the half, a stretch were they went 0 for 5 from the field and saw a 2-point lead turn into a 7-point deficit at intermission.

In the second half, Bucknell shot 52.2 percent (12-23) from the field, including 5 of 7 from the arc. But they turned the ball over a dozen times, including six in that that 5:37 scoreless stretch, where the Bison managed only two shots from the field, allowing Navy to stretch its lead from 2 to 9.

Asked about the turnovers, Flannery had a quick, two-word comment: “Too many.”

“They obviously played good defense,” Flannery added. "They have some quick guards and they really got up in the lanes.

Griffin led Bucknell with 19 points, including 5 threes on 7 tries. Fellow guard Justin Castleberry added a dozen and forwards Darren Mastropaolo and Stephen Tyree each scored 12 for Bucknell. But just like in Poker, Navy¹s three of a kind beat the Bison¹s two pairs.

The win broke a seven game losing streak against Bucknell and was easily the Midshipmen¹s most significant home win since the last time they beat the Bison back in 2005.

GreatAmerican · February 12, 2008, 7:30am

For Immediate Release
Monday, February 11, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navys Harris Named 29th-Best College Prospect For 2008 Draft

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy baseball right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) has been tabbed as the nation’s 29th-best college prospect for the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft, it was announced by Baseball America on Monday. The rankings were compiled by Baseball America through discussions with scouts and represent overall future potential.

Harris ranks as the second-highest collegiate prospect among seniors in this year’s draft class. Only Georgia senior right-handed pitcher Joshua Fields placed ahead of Harris, coming in at 27th on the list.

In the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft last June, Harris was selected in the 24th round by the Atlanta Braves organization. This past summer, he played in the prestigious Cape Cod League with the Bourne Braves. Facing some of the nation’s best collegiate hitters, he started seven contests and boasted a 3.94 ERA in 29.2 innings with 25 strikeouts. With the help of the Navy right-hander, Bourne won the Western Division regular season title with a 25-17-2 record.

During his first-three years in Annapolis, Harris ranks among the program’s top-ten pitchers in five career categories and six single-season lists. The right-hander from Mt. Holly, N.C., has struck out 254 batters in 186.1 innings over his career for an average of 12.27 strikeouts per nine innings, more than two higher than the next-best average. The 254 career strikeouts are currently second on the all-time list, 94 shy of the program-record held by Chuck Davis (1959-61). He has totaled 18 wins over the last-two seasons and his career 2.32 earned run average ranks ninth in school history and third since the aluminum bat was allowed in college baseball in 1974. Against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 2006, Harris became just the fifth Navy pitcher in school history to fire a complete-game no-hitter.

The two-time All-American concluded his junior season with an 8-5 record on the mound with a 2.14 ERA over 14 starts, spanning 88.2 innings. During that time, he struck out a Patriot League-record 119 batters and limited the opposition to a meager .181 batting average. The hard-throwing right-hander went at least five innings in all 14 outings, nine of which quality starts (6+ IP and 3- ER). He also struck out more batters than innings pitched in 13 of his 14 visits to the mound in 2007. He was one of only two pitchers in the country to rank among the top-25 pitchers in strikeouts (20th), strikeouts per nine innings (fifth) and earned run average (23rd).

Harris has also done damage with the bat during his career, as he owns a .303 (140-for-462) batting average with 10 home runs, the eighth-highest total in school history, and 88 RBIs. Last season, Harris hit at a .293 (51-for-174) clip with eight round trippers, the third-best total in program history, and knocked in 47 runs. Against Holy Cross on March 31-April 1, he became the second Navy hitter in school history to belt a home run in three-straight games and the first to do so against Patriot League pitching.

Harris was selected Second-Team All-Patriot League as both a starting pitcher and a designated hitter last May, becoming the first player in school history to earn all-league accolades at two different positions within the same year. One month later, he became the first player in school history to earn ABCA all-region accolades multiple times during his career, as he was first-team selection in 2006 and a second-team member in 2007.

Two months ago, Harris was selected as a candidate for the 2008 Brooks Wallace Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top-collegiate player. Last year’s Brooks Wallace award went to Vanderbilt pitcher, David Price. Price was the first overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and is pitching in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The 2006 winner was standout pitcher/designated hitter Brad Lincoln of Houston. Nebraska’s Alex Gordon, currently with the Kansas City Royals, took home the 2005 trophy. The inaugural award was given in 2004 to Kurt Suzuki of Cal State Fullerton, who is now catching for the Oakland A’s.

Harris and the Midshipmen will begin the 2008 season on Friday, Feb. 22, when they head to Millington, Tenn., to take on Air Force in the Service Academy Spring Classic. Last year, Navy set a school record with 35 wins and advanced to the Patriot League Tournament.

GreatAmerican · February 14, 2008, 6:52pm

Game Specifics
Date and Tip Time: Feb. 13, 2008 at 7:00 pm EST
Location: Bethlehem, Pa. | Stabler Arena (5,600)
Tickets: 610-7LU-GAME
Television: MASN (Tape-Delayed; 10:00 am Thursday
Video Streaming: [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.NavySports.com)
Radio: WNAV (Annapolis; 1430 AM)
Radio talent: Bob Socci
Webcast: [1430</a> WNAV Your Hometown Station Annapolis, Maryland](<a href=“http://www.wnav.com%5D1430”>http://www.wnav.com)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After evening its Patriot League record on Saturday night, Navy (11-12, 4-4 PL) looks to climb to the .500 mark overall for the first time since the second game of the year with a Wednesday night contest at Lehigh. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 pm at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. For tickets, call 610-7LU-GAME.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the airwaves on WNAV (1430 AM) with Bob Socci calling all the action, beginning with the Navy basketball pregame show at 6:45 pm. The game will also be streamed online as part of the CSTV All-Access packages at [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.navysports.com) and at [The</a> Patriot League - Official Athletic Site](<a href=“http://www.patriotleague.com%5DThe”>http://www.patriotleague.com). In addition, the game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) on Thursday morning at 10:00 am.

THE BOOK ON NAVY
One streak will come to end for the Navy men’s basketball program on Wednesday night. The Mids have won two in a row in Patriot League road games, but have alternated wins and losses in the first eight league games of the year. Obviously, the one streak Navy wants to end is the alternating streaks as the Mids defeated Bucknell, 78-72, on Saturday night in Alumni Hall. The Mids pieced together one of their best performances of the season against the Bison, who were playing for first place outright. Navy shot 47.4 percent, including 41.7 percent from three-point range, and forced the Bison into 22 turnovers, turning them into 24 points. The win evened Navy’s league record to 4-4 and the Mids currently sit just a game-and-a-half out of first place.
Navy’s three-headed monster of Greg Sprink, Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina continue to impress. The three combined for 68 of Navy’s 78 points and 48 of the Mids’ 57 shots in the win over Bucknell. For the season, the trio has scored 1,135 of Navy’s 1,753 points (.647) and averages 49.3 points per outing.
Sprink not only continues to lead the team in scoring, but the Patriot League as well. He played one of his best games of the season against Bucknell, scoring 22 points on just 6-of-13 shooting, and hit a clutch three-pointer with just under a minute left to help Navy to the victory. He is averaging 21.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg while shooting a remarkable 86.2 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double-figures in every game but one (Towson) and has 13 20-point efforts so far this year, a number that is the eighth-most 20-point games in a single season. He already ranks 14th on the Navy single-season scoring list and needs just 12 points for 500 for the season.
By averaging 24.0 ppg in the last two games, Kina has moved into second on the team in scoring at 14.1 ppg. He scored a career-high 27 points (11-of-18 shooting) in the win over Bucknell. He currently leads the league in steals and is fifth in assists. He needs 108 points to become the 18th Navy player in school history to score 1,000 points.
The last member of the three-pronged attack is sophomore guard Chris Harris, who has had a sensational season running the point. He averages 14.0 ppg and 3.4 apg, while being second in the league (league games only) with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.55. In league games only, he is averaging 19.0 ppg and 3.9 apg. He is Navy’s top three-point shooter at 44.0 percent (66-of-150).
As a team, the Mids are averaging 76.2 ppg while shooting 41.6 percent from the field. From long distance, the Mids are at 35.9 percent overall. The Mids are being outrebounded by 4.5 boards per game, but are forcing 19.3 turnovers per game, boasting a turnover margin of +2.47.

THE BOOK ON LEHIGH
Lehigh enters the contest with an 11-11 overall mark and is 4-4 in league play. The Mountain Hawks have lost two games in a row, 60-42 at Holy Cross on Feb. 2 and 82-74 at American on Sunday. However, Lehigh has been tough at home, boasting an 8-2 mark at Stabler Arena.
Sophomores lead the way for Brett Reed’s squad, as Zahir Carrington and Marquis Hall are the top scorers on the team at 12.8 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Hall, last year’s Patriot League Rookie of the Year, also leads the league in assists at 4.6 apg. He is shooting just 34.4 percent from the field, but is 37.3 percent from three-point range. Bryan White also averages 10.2 ppg and leads the league in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
As a team, Lehigh is averaging 64.5 ppg, while giving up 66.0 ppg. The Mountain Hawks are shooting 42.6 percent from the field, including 39.0 percent from three-point range. Lehigh is averaging just 13.4 turnovers per game. Foes are averaging 66.0 ppg, while shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
Navy owns a 41-15 series advantage, including a 79-69 win in Annapolis on Jan. 16. The Mids have now won two in a row, after a stretch in which Lehigh had won eight of 10 meetings between the two teams.
Navy has played extremely well at Stabler Arena in the past, owning a 16-5 record (15-4 vs. Lehigh; 1-1 in league tournament) in the facility since Navy’s first game there on Dec. 8, 1981. From 1981 to 2002 against Lehigh, Navy went 12-1 at Stabler Arena. Since, however, the two teams have split the six meetings.
Navy won last year’s meeting at Stabler Arena, 70-65, thanks to a 12-of-21 shooting performance from three-point range. The Mids fell behind early, but rallied in the first half and despite a few tense moments, controlled the game throughout.

THE FIRST MEETING THIS YEAR
The two teams waged in a see-saw contest in the first meeting, capped off by a late 26-10 Navy run to pull away late for a 79-69 victory. The Mids shot 40.4 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mountain Hawks, 40-33. The Mids held Lehigh to just four offensive rebounds and forced 19 Lehigh turnovers. The Mids iced the game away late with a 22-of-27 showing at the free throw line.
Greg Sprink led the way for Navy with a 26-point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance. Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina added 17 and 15, respectively.
The Mids also got a boost from Clif Colbert, who scored nine points with seven rebounds and three steals in just 16 minutes of action.
Marquis Hall scored 20 points with six assists and three steals, Zahir Carrington added 14 points and Bryan White recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks.

NOTES FROM THE NAVY-BUCKNELL GAME
Kaleo Kina scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Mids to a 78-72 victory on Saturday night over Bucknell. Kina’s 27 points surpassed his previous career high of 24 points, set earlier this year against Bucknell. He scored 19 points in the first half of the most-recent meeting, giving him 36 points in the first half this year against Bucknell.
Greg Sprink and Chris Harris added 22 and 19 points, respectively. Harris was just one point shy of giving Navy three 20-point scorers in a game for the first time since David Robinson, Vernon Butler and Kylor Whitaker each scored at least 20 against William & Mary (Feb. 16, 1985). Harris had a chance for 20, but missed a free throw with 11 seconds left.
Sprink moved into 10th place on Patriot League career scoring list (1,620 points), passing Colgate’s Pat Campolieta.
The win over Bucknell snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bison. The win, coupled with Navy snapping a 17-game losing streak to Holy Cross earlier in the year, has allowed Navy to stop its longest and fifth-longest active losing streaks, just in the last month.
The announced crowd of 3,233 was the largest non-Army crowd at Alumni Hall since 4,104 fans watched Georgetown defeat Navy on Nov. 18, 2005.
Navy won for the first time in Patriot League play when leading at halftime. All four of Navy’s losses have come when leading at halftime.

GreatAmerican · February 14, 2008, 6:54pm

This Week In Navy Sports Sponsored By Navy Federal Credit Union

[Page</a> loading…](<a href=“http://www.navyfederal.org/jump/x/navysports_email.html]Page”>http://www.navyfederal.org/jump/x/navysports_email.html)

Overall Navy Sports Record: 192-89-6 (.679)

Men¹s Basketball (11-12, 4-4 in the Patriot League)
Last Week: Defeated Bucknell, 78-72
This Week: at Lehigh (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Bethlehem, Pa., Navy All-Access, 1430 WNAV-Radio, MASN-TV taped delayed at 10 a.m. on Thursday); at Lafayette (Saturday, 1 p.m., Easton, Pa., Navy All-Access, 1430 WNAV- Radio, CSTV-TV)

Women¹s Basketball (5-18, 1-7 in the Patriot League)
Last Week: Lost to Bucknell, 65-50
This Week: Lehigh (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Annapolis, Md., Navy All-Access); Lafayette (Saturday, 7 p.m., Annapolis, Md., Navy All-Access, 1430 WNAV)

Men¹s Gymnastics (6-3)
Last Week: Defeated Army, 340.75-322.6
This Week: at the All-Academy Championship (Sunday, 7 p.m. Pacific, Laguna Beach, Calif.)

No. 12 Men¹s Lacrosse (1-0)
Last Week: Defeated VMI, 10-2
This Week: at Ohio State (Saturday, 12 noon, Columbus, Ohio)

Women¹s Lacrosse (0-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: La Salle-Exhibition (Saturday, 12 noon, Annapolis, Md.)

Rifle (7-2)
Last Week: Lost to Army, 5842-5745
This Week: John Jay-NCAA Qualifier (Saturday, 9 a.m., Annapolis, Md.)

Intercollegiate Sailing
Last Week: Idle
This Week: at the USF Women¹s (Saturday-Sunday, all day, St. Petersburg, Fla.)

No. 13 Squash (15-8)
Last Week: Defeated No. 14 Franklin & Marshall, 6-3
This Week: at the CSA Team Championship (Friday-Sunday, all day, Cambridge, Mass.)

Men¹s Swimming & Diving (15-2)
Last Week: Defeated Columbia, 176-119; lost to Princeton, 183-109
This Week: Idle

Women¹s Swimming & Diving (13-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Tennis (6-2)
Last Week: Lost to Maryland, 7-0; defeated UNC-Greensbor, 7-0
This Week: St. Joseph¹s (Saturday, 12 noon, Annapolis, Md.); George Mason (Saturday, 5 p.m., Annapolis, Md.)

Men¹s Indoor Track & Field (7-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: at the Iowa State Classic (Friday-Saturday, all day, Ames, Iowa)

Women¹s Indoor Track & Field (7-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Loyola (Md.) (Thursday, 4 p.m., Annapolis, Md.)

Wrestling (4-4, 3-1 in the EIWA)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: at Rutgers (Friday, 7 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.)

GreatAmerican · February 14, 2008, 6:55pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The much-anticipated Navy women’s lacrosse season opener against St. Francis (Pa.) has been postponed, as St. Francis is looking to move the game to a later date. The game, which was to be the first Division I contest in the school’s history, was originally scheduled for Feb. 19. Navy’s first game in program history will now take place on Saturday, Feb. 23, against Longwood, in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, beginning at 1:00 pm. The Mids will compete in an exhibition contest against La Salle on Saturday, Feb. 16, beginning at noon in Annapolis.

Admission to all Navy women’s lacrosse home games are free of charge and will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

GreatAmerican · February 14, 2008, 6:56pm

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Tuesday, February 12, 2008) – Navy’s ice hockey team will be looking to get back in the win column this Friday night when it hosts the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) playoffs at the McMullen Hockey Arena. The Midshipmen will open the playoffs with a 7:30 clash with Scranton.

Because Drexel University did not reinstate its hockey program prior to yesterday’s 5 p.m. deadline, the format for this weekend’s ESCHL playoffs is as follows:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008
7:30 PM #4 Navy vs #5 Scranton

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2008
3:00 PM #2 Delaware vs #3 Rhode Island
6:00 PM #1 Penn State vs #4 Navy or #5 Scranton

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2008
1:00 PM Championship Game

The teams will play full 20-minute sudden-death overtimes for all games. Awards presentations will be held immediately following Sunday’s championship game.

Penn State finished in first place in the new league’s first season with an 18-1-0 record, with the Nittany Lion Icers’ lone league loss coming at Delaware last Friday night. Delaware finished in second place with a 14-4-1 record, followed closely by Rhode Island with a 13-7-0 mark. Navy finished fourth with a 6-14-0 league record, which included two forfeit wins over Drexel. Scranton finished fifth at 3-14-1. Drexel, whose season was suspended after a Jan. 25-26 weekend trip to Penn State, closed with an identical 3-14-1 record.

Overall, the Mids are 15-17-1 so far this season. In last weekend’s Crabpot Tournament, Navy defeated the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) by an 8-3 margin before losing in the championship game to Towson University, 4-1.

GreatAmerican · February 14, 2008, 6:57pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The much-anticipated Navy women’s lacrosse season opener against St. Francis (Pa.) has been postponed, as St. Francis is looking to move the game to a later date due to a rash of injuries the squad has sustained. The game, which was to be the first Division I contest in the school’s history, was originally scheduled for Feb. 19. Navy’s first game in program history will now take place on Saturday, Feb. 23, against Longwood, in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, beginning at 1:00 pm. The Mids will compete in an exhibition contest against La Salle on Saturday, Feb. 16, beginning at noon in Annapolis.

Admission to all Navy women’s lacrosse home games are free of charge and will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Navy Sports

CONNECT WITH US