Miserable offensive performance dooms Mids
Navy has lost seven straight to fall into last place in Patriot League
The young, inexperienced Navy men’s basketball team appears to be hitting somewhat of a wall. The Midshipmen have a large contingent of freshmen, sophomores and juniors playing more minutes than they ever have and they seem to be running out of gas.
Scoring points has been a struggle all season for the Mids. Now two more of the three elements on which coach Ed DeChellis puts so much emphasis — defense and rebounding — have abandoned them as well.
Senior forward Matt Rogers scored 25 points and visiting American held the lead for almost the last 36 minutes of the game in beating Navy, 59-42, before a sparse crowd at Alumni Hall. Rogers made 9 of 15 field goals and 6 of 6 free throws in surpassing 20 points for the seventh time this season.
“I’m really, really disappointed in our play tonight. We had no energy tonight. I thought our overall enthusiasm was not there. We didn’t play with any swagger or any passion,” DeChellis said.
Senior guard Lincoln Ball added 11 points for American (14-12, 8-5), which has surpassed its Patriot League win total from last season with five regular season games remaining. The Eagles have won three of their last five despite missing four of their seven leading scorers.
First-year head coach Duane Simpkins has brought new energy to a program that hasn’t posted a winning record within the conference since the 2019-20 campaign.
“I thought we were really good from a defensive standpoint and I’m really proud of our guys. With being down some bodies, we talked about the importance of our defense taking another steps,” said Simpkins, the starting point guard at Maryland from 1993 through 1996. “If there is any silver lining with the guys being injured, it’s made us really focus on the defensive end. We know we’re going to struggle to score until those guys come back.”
Sophomore point guard Austin Benigni scored 11 points for Navy (8-16, 4-9), which suffered its seventh straight loss. Junior guard Lysander Rehnstrom scored all nine of his points from beyond the arc for the Mids, who have fallen into last place in the Patriot League.
Navy never managed to generate any consistent offense Wednesday and posted seasonlows for points and field goal shooting percentage. The Midshipmen finished 15-for53 (28.3%) from the field, made just 7 of 23 3-pointers and even struggled from the free throw stripe, going 5-for-13.
“Offensively, we were so inept. No movement, no passing, no cutting — just not doing what they’re coached to do,” DeChellis said. “That’s the worst we’ve played offensively all season. I’ve got to figure out a way to fix it.”
It was the third straight home loss for Navy and subpar defense has been the theme. On Jan. 27, Loyola shot 52% from the field in the first half and finished at 45.7%, Bucknell shot almost 70% in the second half and finished at 61% on Feb. 7, and Wednesday, American shot 50% in the first half and finished at 44%.
DeChellis was worried about a hangover after Navy lost to archrival Army in the Star game Saturday at West Point. The Mids led by a point with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, but fouled a 3-point shooter and lost, 69-67.
“I was very fearful that with the way we lost the game on Saturday that the team would beat us twice,” DeChellis said.
Compounding matters was the fact this is an exam week at the Naval Academy. DeChellis said players have been staying up late at night studying and are tired. However, he refused to make excuses and was skeptical when asked if the Mids are hitting a wall.
“We don’t have any older guys who have been through the battles and hard times. All these younger guys are trying to figure it out,” DeChellis said. “Worn down? Stress from tests? I don’t know. It’s not acceptable. This is not what we’re about. This group needs to figure it out.”
Ball scored 11 points on 4-for-5 field goal shooting as American took a commanding 37-22 halftime lead. Rogers and Donadio added seven points apiece for the Eagles, who shot 50% (11-22) from the field and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Rehnstrom made a pair of 3-pointers for Navy, which shot just 24% (7-29) from the field. The Midshipmen had two lengthy droughts in which they went more than 12 combined minutes without a field goal.
Navy only trailed 16-14 after sophomore forward Mike Woods made a left-handed finger roll at the 10:36 mark. The Mids then went nearly nine minutes without a field goal before Rehnstrom sank a triple from the corner with 45 seconds remaining in the half. The Eagles outscored the Mids 21-8 over the final 10 ½ minutes of the first half.
Things didn’t get any better for Navy in the second half from the outset. The Mids missed three field goals and two free throws on their initial three possessions, while Rogers drained a 3-pointer and threw down a two-handed dunk on the other end as the Eagles expanded the lead to 20 points with less than a minute and a half elapsed.
Benigni scored off a driving layup and pull-up jumper in the lane to cap a stretch in which Navy made 5 of 6 field goals to cut the deficit to 46-33 at the 11:36 mark of the second half. Rogers made a turnaround jumper then drew a foul and swished two free throws to end that brief rally as the Mids got no closer.
“They scored 22 points in the second half and we couldn’t make a run at them because we couldn’t make a shot,” DeChellis said. “If we don’t make some shots it’s going to be really challenging to get out of this [slump] and win a game.”