WEST POINT, N.Y. – The trademark this season for Army has been its defense. On Saturday, the Cadets put together a good offensive showing and defeated rival Navy 69-50 at Christl Arena. Navy scored the game’s first basket before Army went on a 15-0 spurt over the next seven minutes and was never threatened.
The key factors:
- As noted the Army offense stepped up. The Cadets shot 51 percent from the field and were led by senior swingman Cleveland Richard with a game-high 15 points. Of greater significance was the contribution of Chris Walker. The 6-9 senior came off the bench to score 14 points (7 of 9 from the floor) and give Army a strong low post presence. “(Navy’s) defense didn’t collapse on me,” Walker said. “I had opportunities and felt good out there.”
- The defense of Army saw the Midshipmen held to a 37 percent shooting performance, including 1 of 19 from beyond the arc. “A lot of teams you can make a pass or two and get a shot,” said Navy guard O. J. Avworo. “With Army you need to be patient and make three or four passes before you get a good shot.”
- The Army defense forced senior guard Chris Harris, Navy’s deadliest scorer, into a four-point afternoon. Harris was 2-17 from the floor and missed all seven attempts from three. “I don’t think they did anything strategically different on Harris,” Navy coach Billy Lange said of Army. “He had four or five looks that just didn’t go down. If he hits them I’m not saying we win but it could have changed the game’s complexion.”
- The victory put Army at 14-12 (4-8 in the Patriot League). Navy is now 13-14 (7-5). “We don’t have a perfect record but do have a winning record,” Army coach Zach Spiker said. “We hope to be playing our best ball in march.”The schedule leaves Army with two home games to close out the Patriot League campaign. The league postseason tournament follows. In the Patriot , where parity is the key word, it would be wise not to count Army out in the conference tournament. The Cadets, for their part, certainly aren’t.
- The crowd of 5,163 set a Christl Arena record. “Hopefully the time will come when we can get a crowd like this on a Wednesday night,” Spiker said. “You play at a high level, then people will come out.”
- Lange on the Patriot: “I see the results and notice three games we won and could have lost and three we lost but could have won. There is tremendous parity in this league. At times it can be a humbling league. If you lose you can‘t dwell on it. Learn what you did wrong, correct your mistakes and move on to the next opponent.”
- The last game in the home and home of the annual series is designated the ‘Star Game’. This was Army’s first Star Game triumph since 2002.
- Harris had 30 against Army four weeks ago as Navy edged the Cadets in Annapolis.
Notes from the women’s game
- In the opener the Navy women pulled out a 54-48 decision over Army. Navy led 30-18 at the half before the Cadets began to find the range. The game was a one-possession affair in the stretch with Navy never losing its lead. “I think if we got the lead we could have found a way to pull it out,” said Army coach Dave Magarity.
- Junior forward Erin Anthony paced Army with a game-high 22 points. “We didn’t get the perimeter scoring we needed,” Magarity said. “That’s something we struggled with all year.”
- Army is 10-16 (4-8). Navy is now 15-12 (7-5 in the Patriot).
- Junior point guard Angela Myers came up big for Navy. She led the Midshipmen in scoring with 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 4 assists. Meyer also made a succession of big plays at crunch time to allow Navy to protect its lead. “She is an excellent player,” Magarity said of Myers. “She is a veteran and one of the best players in our league.”
