Navy men’s basketball is in the midst of a tough stretch in which it plays six of nine Patriot League games on the road. That is not good news considering the Midshipmen’s 1-10 road record this season.
That trend makes home games ultra-important and the Mids missed an opportunity when they lost their last game in Alumni Hall to Loyola Maryland, which was in last place at the time.
Needless to say, Navy could not afford to drop another of its three home games during this difficult stretch that continued Wednesday when Bucknell came to Annapolis.
The Midshipmen came out determined and played well on both ends of the floor in building a 10-point lead in the first half, but the same problems that have hurt them of late — poor shooting and subpar defense — led to another disappointing defeat.
Sophomore center Noah Williamson scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Bucknell used a strong second half to beat Navy, 80-67, before an announced 1,404 at Alumni Hall.
Williamson, a 7-footer who has made dramatic improvement since last season, enjoyed a decided height advantage over several defenders and made 8 of 9 shots. The Latvia native scored 13 points in the second half.
First-year Bucknell coach John Griffin is married to former St. Mary’s High and Mount St. Mary’s basketball player Bri Gauthier. His late father-in-law is Art Gauthier, who was a longtime Amateur Athletic Union and high school coach in Anne Arundel County.
Griffin said afterward that in the back of his mind he heard Art Gauthier saying “get the ball inside,” so he told the team to keep feeding Williamson.
“Noah Williamson is a really high-level player early in his career. He’s blossoming at the right time and we’re going to keep playing through him,” Griffin said. “What you’re seeing is a highly skilled European five man.”
Junior point guard Elvin Edmonds IV scored 14 points and dished off 12 assists for Bucknell (10-14, 7-4), which outscored Navy 45-28 after the break. Senior swingman Jack Forrest totaled a team-high 18 points and four assists for the Bison.
Sophomore forward Ruot Bijiek contributed 11 points for Bucknell, which shot a sizzling 69% from the field in the second half and 60% for the game. The Bison made 6 of 10 3-point attempts after the break.
Navy has watched opponents make 56 3-pointers over the past five games.
“When you let a team shoot 69% in a half, you’re not going to win. When you let a team shoot 60% from 3 you’re not going to win,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “The 3-points shot over the last five games is just killing us.”
Sophomore point guard Austin Benigni scored 18 points before fouling out to lead Navy (8-14, 4-7), which is on a five-game skid. Junior forward Mitch Fischer totaled 17 points and seven rebounds for the Mids, who remain in a four-way tie for fifth place.
Navy next travels to West Point to meet archrival Army in the Star game. The Mids return home next Wednesday before embarking on two more road games. DeChellis said defense is the key to turning things around.
“We’re just not defending the way you need to defend to win games. It’s not some mystery. We have to be better defensively. It’s my job to fix it,” he said.
Benigni scored nine points and Nyles Howard added eight as Navy took a 39-35 halftime lead. Fischer and Donovan Draper added six points apiece for the Midshipmen, who held the lead for nearly 17 ½ of the 20 minutes.
Howard provided a spark off the bench, scoring off a driving layup and draining a 3-pointer to give Navy its largest lead, 21-11, at the 11:04 mark. Bijiek got hot and scored five of his 10 points in the final eight-plus minutes as Bucknell cut the deficit to two.
“They certainly came out with a great punch and made some shots during that first 10 minutes,” Griffin said. “I just thought we kept our focus and poise during that stretch. I’m just really proud that they continued to take each possession as its own.”
Benigni was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer just before the buzzer and hit two of three free throws as the Mids took a four point advantage into the break. Both teams shot 53% from the field in the first half.
DeChellis thought the end of the first half, when Bucknell outscored Navy 14-8, was critical. He noted that Navy committed three egregious turnovers down the stretch.
“I thought we played well for the first 18 minutes of the first half. The last two minutes of the first half were not very good,” he said.
There were four ties in the opening five minutes of the second half before Bucknell used a 15-2 run to seize control. Williamson made a 3-pointer and scored off a post move on consecutive possessions to get things going then Edmonds made a couple treys as the Bison built a 63-50 advantage.
Navy went 1-for-11 from the field and committed two turnovers on 10 possessions during that decisive stretch.
We started to move the ball a lot more consistently and played with an element of purpose that gave us a higher quality of shots,” Griffin said. “We also got a bunch of stops, which always helps.”
Navy outrebounded Bucknell, 32-27, marking the first time that had happened in 14 straight games against Division I opponents.
“We finally won the rebounding war, which was a positive,” DeChellis said.