2 days Ago By Bill Wagner
Navy men’s and women’s basketball open Patriot League play on Thursday night against American. The Midshipmen will host the Eagles at Alumni Hall (7 p.m.
) on the men’s side, while the women’s team will be on the road at Bender Arena in D.C. Navy’s men won only three games during the nonconference portion of the schedule, while the women’s team has just three losses.
It’s been a frustrating season so far for men’s coach Ed DeChellis, whose squad has suffered seven single-digit losses. The Midshipmen have played extremely well at times, but periodic lapses and mistakes have proved costly. “We’ve had chances to win games and just haven’t.
We just haven’t been able to make the big shot or get the big stop at crunch time,” DeChellis said. “Our guys are giving great effort, playing really hard and competing like crazy. We’ve just got to find a way to finish these close games.
” Navy (3-10) enters conference action on a six-game losing streak and will try to turn things around against American (6-7), which was picked to place second behind three-time defending champion Colgate in the Patriot League preseason poll. The Eagles are led by graduate student forward Matt Rogers, the preseason Player of the Year. “American has probably played the most consistently of any Patriot League team.
That’s a tough game right out of the gate,” DeChellis said. Junior point guard Austin Benigni leads the Mids in scoring with 16.8 points per game and has also dished off 52 assists.
Junior center Aidan Kehoe is second in scoring (9.5) and tops the team in rebounding (7.9).
Navy’s three other starters — forward Donovan Draper along with wing guards Jinwoo Kim and Jordan Pennick — are only averaging less than 28 points among them. DeChellis said the inconsistency the Mids have displayed so far is due largely to youth and inexperience as Benigni is the only player who logged significant minutes coming into this season. “We’re disappointed with where we’re at in terms of wins and losses, but I see growth and our team is getting better,” DeChellis said.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll be OK once league play comes around. We’re on our way to becoming a good team.” Navy is shooting just 41 percent from the field as a team and DeChellis would like to see players other than Benigni attack the basket more often.
Benigni has shot 88 free throws this season, but no other player has attempted more than 26. “We need guys to drive the ball and get fouled,” DeChellis said. Navy is averaging more than 12 offensive rebounds, but has not taken advantage of those extra opportunities.
In a 69-64 loss to New Jersey Institute of Technology, the Midshipmen snagged 21 offensive boards but scored just 10 second-chance points. On the other end of the court, DeChellis is not pleased that opponents are averaging almost 74 points and shooting nearly 47% from the field. “We need to be better in the halfcourt defensively and we need to do a better job of containing the ball,” said DeChellis, who is looking forward to starting Patriot League play with two home games after having to play seven straight road games.
It’s been a completely different story for the Navy women, who have played seven of 11 games inside the friendly confines of Alumni Hall. The Mids have posted some impressive wins, edging Iona (55-53) in a road matinee, beating Radford in overtime (78-73) in a special event at the Greenbrier Resort and most recently defeating Delaware (79-69). “Delaware was probably the best win overall and showed our development.
I really like the way we played in that game against a very experienced and talented team,” said coach Tim Taylor, noting Navy had 19 assists and just 13 turnovers. “I think our team continues to grow. We’re still trying to find our identity to some extent.
” Combination guard Zanai Barnett-Gay was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year last season and has been even better as a sophomore. The Riverdale Baptist product is averaging 19 points and also leads the team in rebounding (7.2 per game), assists (33) and steals (26).
“Z worked her butt off during the offseason and is seeing the results. She has been outstanding,” Taylor said. Navy stands 11th nationally with 44.
7 rebounds per game and also ranks highly in assist-to-turnover ratio. Taylor said the Mids have improved in almost every facet of the game since last season when they finished 14-17 overall, 9-9 in the Patriot League. “We pass the ball better, we’re better defensively, we understand concepts and situational basketball better,” Taylor said.
Individually, center Kate Samson is arguably Navy’s most improved player. The 6-foot-4 junior is averaging nine points and seven rebounds, while leading the team with 19 blocked shots. Samson was one of the standouts in the Delaware win, equaling a career high with 18 points while also grabbing seven boards.
However, Samson aggravated a nagging lag injury in that game and is currently sidelined. “I think Kate has come a long way and shown flashes of the type of player she can be,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately, Kate has been dealing with a leg issue and is just not healthy right now.
” Freshman guard Mary Gibbons has made an immediate impact and ranks second on the squad in scoring with 10.3 points per game despite coming off the bench. “Mary has a great basketball IQ and just knows how to score the basketball.
When she gets open shots she usually makes them,” Taylor said. Sophomore guard Kyah Smith is averaging 7.5 points, while freshman guard Julianna Almeida is contributing 5.
5 per game. “I like our offensive balance and that we can get scoring from a lot of different players on any given night,” Taylor said. “Last season, Kai and Zanai had to carry the load most of the time.
This season, I feel like anybody can go for 20 points. We’ve had a lot of different players go for double figures.” Loyola Maryland was the preseason favorite to capture the Patriot League championship with Colgate and Lehigh picked to place second and third, respectively.
Navy was predicted to finish seventh out of 10 teams. “I like our team and think we can compete with any team in the league,” Taylor said. “I definitely do not think we’re a seventh place team.
” Navy plays five of its first eight Patriot League games on the road, including trips to Army West Point, Boston University and Colgate. “They didn’t do us any favors with the schedule, that’s for sure. It is what it is and we have to deal with it,” Taylor said.
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