Stars will be on the line Saturday in Annapolis as the Army-Navy basketball doubleheader is held at Alumni Hall.
Action gets underway at 11 a.m. with the women’s game and Navy will be looking to avenge a 59-49 loss to Army on Jan. 26 at West Point.
It will be a different story in the men’s game, which follows the women’s, as Navy is seeking a season sweep after beating Army, 66-53, in the first meeting.
Coach Ed DeChellis would like to see the Navy men defend the way they did at Christl Arena last month. The Midshipmen harassed the Black Knights into 31% field goal shooting (19-for-61), holding them 23 points below their season average.
Navy senior point guard Jalen Rucker, who is averaging 18.2 points, was limited to five on 1-for-12 shooting. Sophomore forward Josh Scovens (12 points) and sophomore guard Ryan Curry (11) were the only players in double figures for Army, but were a combined 8 of 24 from the field.
“I thought we defended well. We really locked in on our matchups,” DeChellis said. “Hopefully, we can bring that same type of focus and intensity on the defensive end in this game.”
This will be the 29th Army-Navy Game for DeChellis, who will tie Don DeVoe for the most by a coach at either school in the series. He has learned that usually one player, often someone unexpected, “pokes their head up” in this rivalry.
Sophomore guard Jordan Pennick was that player in the first meeting, scoring 20 points on the strength of five 3-pointers to lead Navy. Junior point guard Austin Benigni had a strong all-around floor game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, while junior center Aidan Kehoe notched a double-double with 13 points and an Army-Navy Game record 20 rebounds.
“Jordan made some really big shots to give us some separation. Our kids made plays on both ends of the floor and were able to expand the lead,” DeChellis said.
DeChellis has a 15-13 record against Army and is 8-6 in Star games. Last year’s loss in the Star game was a bitter pill to swallow as the Mids led by a point with 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime. Scovens was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and made all three foul shots as Army escaped with a 69-67 win.
“We want to get the [Alumni Trophy] back. That’s my motivation,” DeChellis said. “We had the game won and blew it up there last season. Hopefully, we can execute the game plan on both ends of the floor and come away with the win this time.”
Army leads the Patriot League in scoring with almost 76 points per game with four of five starters averaging in double figures. Scovens is a versatile 6-foot-6 wing who is averaging 16.4 points, while Curry is a 3-point marksman scoring at a 12.5 point clip. Senior forward AJ Allenspach is a rugged 6-foot-8, 225-pounder getting 10.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
The Black Knights also lead the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio, which increases the number of shots they get up.
“Army can really score the basketball. They’ve got three guys that can really shoot on the perimeter and Allenspach who can score in the post,” DeChellis said. “They don’t turn the ball over very much and shoot the ball pretty consistently from the floor.”
Rucker, a Baltimore native and Gilman graduate, is the catalyst and DeChellis knows he will be motivated to make amends for the poor performance in the first meeting with the Mids.
“Jalen is good off the dribble and has a strong mid-range game. He’s a shifty guy with the ball and can get into the lane,” DeChellis said. “He’s an older guy that knows how to play. He’s kind of the head of the snake and gives the other guys courage and confidence.”
Scovens is a tough matchup because of his ability to knock down perimeter jumpers, drive the ball and post up.
“[Scovens] has expanded his game and is now shooting threes. He does a good job of taking the ball to the basket and getting fouled. He can score inside or outside,” DeChellis said.
Curry will often handle the ball to allow Rucker to play the wing and is very effective driving and dishing. He leads the Patriot League with 69 3-point field goals made.
“Curry can catch-and-shoot from deep. He’s never out of range so we need to make sure we have hands in his face at all times,” DeChellis said.
Navy, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Lehigh on Wednesday night, has struggled offensively of late — failing to score more than 65 points in the last three games. The Midshipmen managed only 51 points on 29% shooting in a loss at Lafayette last Saturday.
“Offensively, we haven’t been good. We haven’t shot the ball well as a team and that’s a concern,” DeChellis said. “We were all slumping at the same time offensively in terms of shooting the ball. We’re going to have to be a heck of a lot better offensively on Saturday.”
Benigni leads Navy in scoring with 18.1 points per game and is also averaging 4.3 assists. No other starter is averaging double figures with Kehoe in particular seeing a dip in production. The 6-foot-10, 246-pounder has scored just 16 points on 8-for-22 field goal shooting over the past four games. He attempted only three shots in two of those contests.
After pouring in 66 points in four games to start Patriot League play, Kehoe is now a focal point of the scouting report and opponents have figured out how to defend him.
“We have to find ways to get Kehoe the ball and he needs to work harder to put himself in position to get the ball,” DeChellis said.
It is normally a sellout crowd and raucous atmosphere inside Alumni Hall for the Army-Navy Game, but DeChellis is concerned about this being President’s Day weekend. Often, members of the Brigade of Midshipmen take advantage of three straight days off to get away.
“I hope we have a great crowd because our players deserve that,” DeChellis said. “This is what college basketball should be — a Saturday afternoon rivalry game.”
DeChellis set the Navy men’s basketball record for games coached (418) on Wednesday and will now tie DeVoe for most times patrolling the sidelines in an Army-Navy matchup.
“I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to coach here. I do cherish that I get to work with great young men here. It’s been a very joyful experience,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Navy women will be seeking a reversal of fortunes after losing to Army by 10 points in the first meeting of the season. The Black Knights raced out to a 21-12 lead after the first quarter and the Mids found themselves playing catch-up the rest of the way.
Coach Tim Taylor had designed a defensive game plan focused on preventing Army from penetrating the lane and kicking the ball out to open 3-point shooters. However, the Black Knights made three shots from beyond the arc during a 14-4 run in the opening quarter.
“We’ve got to have a better start to this game. We cannot allow them to go on a big run right out of the gate,” Taylor said. “Once we settled in and executed our game plan defensively, it was a game.”
Sophomore forward Lizzie Holder suffered an injury during the first game against Army, becoming the third post player lost for the season, joining Gia Pissott and Kate Samson.
Taylor noted the absence of Samson and Holder has cost Navy an average of almost 40 minutes, 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Midshipmen had to remake themselves after losing Samson then do so again after Holder went down.
Navy has dropped four of its last five contests, a downturn that began against Army. Two of those losses came to first place Lehigh (20-4, 11-1).
“We’re still trying to find our way after losing Kate and Lizzie and having to go with a smaller lineup,” said Taylor, who praised the play of the lone remaining true post player — Morgan Demos, who notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss at Lehigh.
Senior combination guard Trinity Hardy is the catalyst for Army, leading the team in scoring (13.3 points), assists (66) and steals (47). Taylor has been impressed by Hardy’s ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor.
“Trinity is the fastest player in the league and you’ve got to limit her penetration and force her to take tough shots,” he said.
The Black Knights have another versatile weapon in 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Fiona Hastick, who is second on the squad in scoring (10.3) and assists (62). Reese Ericson is also averaging 10.4 points and leads the Patriot League with 60 3-pointers made.
Kya Smith, a 6-foot-1 forward, is only averaging 7.6 points, but made a major impact in the first meeting with Navy by posting a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
“Smith is very, very active… she never stops moving. We need to keep her off the offensive boards and limit her touches,” Taylor said.
Sophomore combination guard Zanai Barnett-Gay leads Navy in scoring (20 points), rebounding (7.9), assists (73) and steals (54). No other Midshipmen is averaging double figures for points and that lack of balanced scoring has proven costly. Barnett-Gay and only one other player have hit double digits in four of the last five games.
“I think that’s the biggest key. We’ve got to find a way to get more consistent scoring,” Taylor said. “We need some other people to step up and make some shots.”
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.
WOMEN’S-MEN’S DOUBLEHEADER
Army at Navy
Saturday, 11 a.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
RADIO: 1430 AM