Courtesy of NavySports.com
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Senior Will Kelly posted 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Navy men’s basketball team (16-7, 7-3 PL) to a 64-50 win at Army West Point (12-10, 3-7 PL) to capture the 2016 Army-Navy Star Game at Christl Arena on Monday evening.
Navy won the Army-Navy Star Game for the third straight year and Navy’s three seniors, Kelly, Kendall Knorr and Tilman Dunbar, are 4-0 in their careers at West Point.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” said head coach Ed DeChellis. “It was a tough atmosphere to come in to and it’s a tough place to play. But our kids did a great job defensively and that’s who we are. If we can defend, rebound and take care of the ball, then we can give ourselves a chance to win.”
Dunbar had 13 points and a career-best nine rebounds and sophomore Shawn Anderson had 12 points and five boards.
Army’s Tanner Plomb returned from a five-game injury absence to score 14 points and Luke Morrison added 11 points.
With the game tied early at 3-3, Tim Abruzzo made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to ignite an 11-0 Navy run over the next five minutes. Kelly scored on an inside move and then Anderson hit a floater. Navy kept the run going when Kelly had a highlight reel dunk putback and then Jace Hogan scored to put the Mids ahead 14-3 with 11:30 left in the opening half.
Army then went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 16-12, but the Mids got back-to-back and one plays. Dunbar hit a 3-pointer and was fouled for a four-point play and then Kelly converted a three-point play on the next possession.
Nourse Fox got free for a layup to prompt Army’s second timeout of the first half when the Mids went ahead by 12 points at 27-15. Coming out of the timeout, Army held Navy scoreless for the final 4:25 of the half and finished with a 6-0 run to cut Navy’s halftime lead to 27-21.
Navy extended its lead to 11 points when Hogan hit a jumper to put the Mids ahead 39-28. After a 3-pointer by Morrison, junior Zach Fong made a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity to keep the lead at 10 and then an inside bucket by Kelly put the Mids ahead by 12.
The Black Knights cut in to the lead, but a layup by Dunbar pushed Navy’s lead to 11 at 46-35 with under eight minutes to go. Army was then able to cut the lead to five after two free throws by Plomb. Kelly dunked his second putback of the game and then two more free throws by Plomb kept the margin at five with under four minutes to go.
Anderson connected on a floater and then Fong drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Kelly on the next possession to put the Mids ahead by 10 at 53-43. Army started to foul and the Mids went 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the last 81 seconds to seal the game. Dunbar and Anderson each made four free throws down the stretch and Abruzzo added two more with 29 seconds left for the 64-50 final.
Navy’s defense held Army to 29.7 points below its average and the 50 points were 15 less than its previous low total of the year.
In addition to Kelly’s 15 points and 10 rebounds, he also had two assists, two blocks and two steals. It was Kelly’s fifth career double-double.
The Mids were 4-of-8 on 3-pointers, while the Black Knights were just 6-of-28. Navy shot 43 percent in the game and Army shot just 27 percent. Navy outrebounded Army, 42-34, and held a 28-10 edge on points in the paint.
Navy is now 9-2 in road games and has tied the program record for most road wins in a season. Navy won nine road games in both 1985 and 1987. Navy is tied with Monmouth and Arkansas Little Rock for the most road wins in the NCAA this season.
Navy sits in second place in the Patriot League at 7-3, behind first-place Bucknell (9-1).
The Navy men’s basketball team has now won five straight games against Army and leads the all-time series, 77-47. The five-game winning streak is the longest in the series since Navy won 13 in a row from 1997 to 2002.
Navy leads the all-sport 2015-16 Army-Navy Star Series, 6-5-1.
Navy will have a quick turnaround as the team will host Boston U. (12-11, 5-5 PL) in Annapolis on Wednesday. The game against Boston will be Navy’s third game in three different states in a five-day stretch.
Leave a Reply