Mids waste big lead, shot to make move

With six games remaining in the regular season, it is time for the Navy men’s basketball team to start positioning itself for the Patriot League Tournament.

The Midshipmen had a good chance to make a move in the standings this week with home games against two of the schools they are contending with for a first-round bye.

Navy squandered a big lead and a golden opportunity to solidify its position in the upper half of the 10-team conference on Wednesday night.

Sophomore guard Justin Jaworski scored12 of his game-high19 points in the second half as Lafayette rallied to beat Navy, 80-74, before a sparse crowd at Alumni Hall. Jaworski made 6-of-9 field goals and also dished off four assists for the Leopards, who came into the contest in a four-way tie for last place in the Patriot League, overcame a 13-point first-half deficit.

Senior forward Paulius Zalys came off the bench to contribute 15 points and five assists for the Leopards, who shot a sizzling 55.2 percent (16for-29) in the second half and took advantage of repeated miscues by the Midshipmen. Backup guard Alex Petrie chipped in 10 points for Lafayette (8-16, 5-8), which made 11 3-pointers.

Sophomore guard Cam Davis took the ball strong to the basket all night in scoring 18 points to lead Navy (8-16, 5-8), which is now tied with Lafayette and Loyola for sixth place. Freshman swingman John Carter Jr. totaled 14 points and eight rebounds for the Midshipmen, whowere careless with the ball in committing 17 turnovers.

Junior forward Evan Wieck narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds for Navy, which gave up 30 points in the paint and another 25 points off turnovers.

Senior forward George Kiernan had 12 points and seven rebounds for Navy, which hosts archrival Army (12-14, 7-6) on Saturday afternoon. Kiernan only made 4 of 11 field goals and was limited to five points in the second half.