8 December, 2006
by Jake Wilson
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Penn (5-3) |
41 |
38 |
79 |
| Navy (7-3) |
29 |
29 |
58 |
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Postgame audio
Penn: Ibby Jaaber | Mike Kach | Glen Miller
Navy: Billy Lange and Greg Sprink
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Navy hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to trim a 14-point deficit to five. After a Mark Zoller three, Trey Stanton hit a shot with his foot on the line to make it 26-20 with five minutes left in the half. Steve Danley hit one of two at the line and after an offensive rebound by Ibby Jaaber, Zoller got a conventional three-point play to make it a four-point possession. Corey Johnson got inside for a layup, but missed the and-one free throw. At the other end, Jaaber drilled a three-pointer, then Mike Kach picked T.J. Topercer’s pocket from behind and went in for the fastbreak dunk. After a 1-for-2 performance at the stripe by Johnson, Danley hit two free throws to restore the Quaker lead to 14 at 37-23. Navy would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
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| Key sign it was over |
Greg Sprink had brought the Midshipmen to within 15 with a pair of driving layups near the midway point of the second half, but Danley found Jaaber for a three-pointer. Following a sequence of sloppy play and frantic back-and-forth play, Danley was fouled and converted both free throws. Following a missed jumper by Sprink, Mike Kach leaked out and Penn got him the ball on a fastbreak. Sprink fouled Kach hard as he went up for a dunk, and the junior landed awkwardly, resulting in an intentional foul call on Sprink. Kach hit both free throws, and Danley hit one of two from the stripe on the subsequent possession to give Penn a 69-46 lead with just 7:47 left.
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| Key performance |
Jaaber made his presence felt in all facets of the game. He led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting (4 of 7 from three), grabbed a game-high seven rebounds (including five offensive boards), and recorded three assists. At the defensive end, the senior was a gamechanger with seven steals and a block.
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| Key statistic |
Navy committed twice as many turnovers (22) as Penn (11). Making matters worse, 15 of those turnovers came on Quaker steals. The result was ugly for the Midshipmen, who were outscored 34-8 in points off turnovers.
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| Notes
– Trey Stanton led the Midshipmen in scoring with 12 points. No other Navy player reached double figures.
– Greg Sprink came in averaging 17.2 points per game, but was held scorless in the first half, finishing with just eight points.
– Both teams shot the three-pointer very well. The Quakers were 8 of 18 (44.4 percent), while the Midshipmen were 10 of 25 (40.0 percent) from long range.
– All five Penn starters logged at least 32 minutes, and all five scored in double figures. The Navy bench outscored Penn’s reserves 25-5.
– Tommy McMahon did not make the trip to Annapolis, staying back in Philadelphia due to back spasms. His status is day-to-day.
– Kach made his first career start as a Quaker, hitting all three field goal attempts — including a three-pointer 13 seconds into the game on Penn’s first possessions — en route to a career-high 12 points in 33 minutes.
– After shooting 57.7 percent in the first half, Penn cooled off, shoot just 36.4 percent after halftime.
– The Quakers had a big edge at the free throw line, attempting 34 free throws to Navy’s eight, and outscoring their hosts 25-4 at the stripe.
– After breaking for exams, Navy will look to get back on track when it hosts Division III Delaware Valley on Sunday, December 17.
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