21 November, 2006
by Thomas Polk
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-2) |
23 |
36 |
59 |
| Navy (4-1) |
40 |
42 |
82 |
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In the first game played at Alumni Hall this season, Navy ran Maryland-Eastern Shore off the floor, downing the Hawks 82-59. Navy’s home opener went exactly the way Billy Lange and the Midshipmen wanted it to go. The offense ran smoothly, shooting 52.8 percent from the floor, 47.4 percent on three-pointers and 89.5 percent from the charity stripe; they also boasted 20 assists on 28 made field goals. This effort results in a 4-1 record – Navy’s best start since the 1998-99 season
Although the UMES Hawks had three scorers in double digits, with Ed Tyson and Antonio McMillion scoring 21 and 16 respectively, guard Jesse Brooks shot only 2-of-9 totaling 6 points in tonight’s effort – he averaged 22 points thus far this season. The defensive pressure of the Mids proved too much for the Hawks and they found themselves down by as many as 26 points.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 12:41 left in the first half, Adam Teague scored a jumper to put the Mids on top 12-11 and they never looked back. The Mids defense held the Hawks without a field goal until a Brooks three-pointer at the 1:49 mark made the score 32-20. Before the three-point shot, the Hawks scored only 6 points in nearly 12 minutes, all coming from free throws.
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| Key sign it was over |
Coming out of the locker room down by 17, it was imperative the Hawks find some momentum in the early part of the second half. The first 5 minutes, however, would find the Mids on a 9-4 run and the Hawks’ Brooks resting on the bench. His substitute, freshman Danijel Krleski, fumbled a pass in the back-court of a half-court set; Navy’s Corey Johnson grabbed the loose ball and finished with an uncontested lay-up on the other end bringing the score to 51-27. The lead swelled to 25 points and, although the Hawks would find some momentum later in the game, the lead never broke out of double digits.
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| Key performance |
Greg Sprink led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also added 3 assists, 2 steals, and 7 boards in 31 minutes. His performance was punctuated by two scores. With 3 seconds left in the first half, Sprink drilled a 3-pointer from the right side (the last shot of the half) to boost his team’s already high momentum as they left the court up 40-23. At the 7:15 mark in the second half, Sprink ended a 13-2 run by the Hawks with a drive from beyond the three-point line good for a lay-up which spurred a 7-0 run by the Mids.
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| Key statistic |
UMES shot 34.8 percent in the game and 28 percent in the first half. The Mids, employing primarily a zone defense, forced the Hawks to settle for poor looks on jump shots; they went 7-of-23 from beyond the arc and managed only 8 points in the paint.
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| Notes |
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All 14 players for Navy saw at least 2 minutes of playing time.
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Lange’s freshmen performed well with Trey Stanton leading the way scoring 15 points. T.J. Topercer added 9 points and 5 rebounds.
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Coach Lange was extremely pleased with Corey Johnson’s performance. Although he only had 5 points, Coach Lange pointed to his defensive intensity and offensive vision. Johnson finished with 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
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Even though Navy had 13 turnovers to UMES’s 11, the Mids outscored the Hawks on points off turnovers 16-9.
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The Mids have little time for a holiday break as they have a Saturday date at Villanova, where Lange was an assistant coach to Jay Wright.
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