Navy downs St. Francis Brooklyn for third win in a row

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Five players scored in double figures as the Navy men’s basketball team (4-2) defeated St. Francis Brooklyn (1-3), 85-76, in the opening game of the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout on Friday at Florida Gulf Coast’s Alico Arena.

“It was a big win for us,” said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. “We did some good things. I thought our zone defense was good tonight, especially in the second half, but we turned the ball over too much. We are a senior-laden team, but we made a lot of foolish decisions. That is something we have to work on.”

Senior forward Tom Lacey scored a game-high 16 points with seven rebounds, while junior center Evan Wieck matched his career-high of 14 points for the second straight game and also grabbed five rebounds.

Wieck was bloodied and had to exit the game after suffering a shot to the mouth while drawing his second offensive charge of the game. After receiving medical attention, Wieck came back into the game.

Senior guard Shawn Anderson scored 13 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Anderson currently has 999 career points and is just one point away from becoming the 24th Midshipman in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Junior guard Hasan Abdullah scored 13 points with four assists and three steals, while senior guard Bryce Dulin made it five Mids in double figures with his 10 points. Junior forward George Kiernan scored nine points in the game.

The teams played a close opening segment of the second half and Navy led St. Francis Brooklyn by two points at 47-45 when Lacey keyed a 9-0 run. Kiernan opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and then Lacey made big plays on three straight possessions. Lacey first drew a foul inside and made his two free throws. He then drew an offensive charge against St. Francis Brooklyn’s big man Cori Johnson on the defensive end. On the ensuing in-bounds play, St. Francis Brooklyn pressed and Lacey got free from Johnson. Dulin threw a full-court in-bounds pass that Lacey caught and dunked to force a St. Francis Brooklyn timeout.

Two minutes later, Anderson pulled down a defensive rebound and started the break before dishing to Dulin for a layup and Navy’s biggest lead of the game at 63-49.

Navy kept is lead around 10 points until the final two minutes, when the Terriers cut the margin to five after a jumper by Chauncey Hawkins and a 3-pointer by Josh Nicholas. Navy was then able to get stops on the defensive end, while freshman Cam Davis made a pair of free throws and Abdullah and Anderson each made 1-of-2 foul shots to help seal the game.

Navy shot 6-of-12 on 3-pointers and the team has now shot at least 50 percent from distance in three straight games. Navy outshot St. Francis Brooklyn in the game, 54 percent (30-of-56) to 48 percent (25-of-52).

Navy outrebounded St. Francis Brooklyn, 38-24. Navy pulled down 13 offensive rebounds for 12 second-chance points. Navy committed 18 turnovers in the contest, which the Terriers turned in to 21 points.

Navy had a great opening 70 seconds to the game, racing out to an 8-0 lead. Dulin converted an and-1 on Navy’s first possession of the game, and after Wieck drew an offensive charge, Abdullah sunk a 3-pointer. Lacey’s reverse lob layup put Navy ahead 8-0. The Mids would then go ahead 13-6 while making their first five shots of the game.

Navy pushed its lead to 22-15 after a 3-pointer by Dulin and layup by junior guard Ryan Pearson, but the Terriers responded with an 8-0 run to take their first lead at 23-22 with 5:55 left in the opening half. The teams traded baskets at the end of the first half – with Navy scoring on putback layups by Pearson and Wieck – but the St. Francis Brooklyn’s Glenn Sanabria got the last bucket with a second to go to give the Terriers the 35-33 halftime edge.

Navy has now scored at least 79 points in three straight games for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Navy improves to 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points over the last two seasons.

The Mids have won three straight games.

Nicholas led St. Francis Brooklyn with 14 points off the bench, while Jalen Jordan added 12.

Navy will continue play at the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout on Saturday evening when playing at host FGCU at 7:00 PM on ESPN3.com. Navy will close the three-game tournament against Denver on Sunday at 12 noon.

“We are playing Florida Gulf Coast on their home court here tomorrow and that will be challenging,” said DeChellis. “It gets harder as you go along in these tournaments because you get more tired after each game.”