Red-Hot Shooting Leads Lafayette to 80-67 Win Over Midshipmen

Lafayette opened up a 25-point on Navy after outscoring the Mids 25-7 to start the second half.

	Navy senior David Hooper came off the bench to score all 11 points in the second half.

Jan. 14, 2006

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - Paced by freshman Andrew Brown's 17 points, Lafayette (8-7 / 2-1 Patriot League) recovered from an early 14-point deficit to claim an 80-67 win over Navy (6-9 / 0-3 Patriot League) Saturday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa.

"Give credit to Lafayette," said Navy second-year coach Billy Lange. "They got down early and hung in there. I thought we looked great for about 17 minutes, but then we lost our way and didn't play Navy basketball.

The two teams traded leads over the opening five minutes when the Midshipmen put together a 16-0 run that featured four three-pointers, including two by sophomore guard Greg Sprink, and Navy led 25-11 with 10:24 to play.

Lafayette cut the lead to five (31-26) with 6:10 to play, as Navy turned the ball over on three-consecutive possessions and was unable to connect on four shots down the stretch.

Navy got a lift from reserve forward Ben Biles who converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push the Mids' lead back to eight (34-26) with 4:31 to play. For Navy, though, it was the last points it would put on the scoreboard before the end of the half as the Leopards outscored the Midshipmen 11-0 and owned a three-point, 37-34 lead at the half.

Lafayette started the second half red hot, scoring 24 of its first 27 points of the second stanza off three-point buckets. By the 10:18 mark, Lafayette built its lead to a game-high 25 points, outscoring Navy 27-5 in the first 10 minutes of the second half and 53-14 since Navy's 14-point lead in the opening half.

"Lafayette has unbelievable offense and energy," Lange pointed out. "I think we let their offensive energy take over the final three minutes of the first half and probably the first eight minutes of the second half."

Navy narrowed the lead to 13 on four different occasions, but was unable to get any closer.

"Our kids care so much, but they've got to do it together. Our guys try to do too much individually instead of sticking to what we do. Sometimes you need to get your butt kicked to learn what playing basketball is about. We are a young team that is still learning and I believe we are an improved team from last year. We'll continue to play hard and put forth our best effort."

Navy shot 32.4 percent (22-68) from the field, while Lafayette connected on 53.3 percent (24-45) of its shots, including 56.5 percent (13-23) in the second half.

Led by Sprink's 17 points, four Navy players scored in double figures - Corey Johnson (11), David Hooper (11) and Kaleo Kina (10). Johnson, along with junior forward Carlton Baldwin, led the Mids with seven boards, while Johnson also dealt out a team-best five assists.

Brown's 17 points, which included four three-pointers, led Lafayette, while Jamaal Hilliard and Paul Cummins added 13 points apiece.