‘Grit, determination and toughness’
Mids off to hot start after sweeping Bucknell
With the Patriot League implementing home-and-home weekend doubleheaders between the same schools, Navy coach Ed DeChellis sought to familiarize himself with the schedule format.
DeChellis asked his staff to research the outcome of games held on consecutive days between common opponents, both at the collegiate and professional level.
A review of history produced one undeniable conclusion.
“You hardly ever see one team winning both games in these back-to-back scenarios,” DeChellis said Monday afternoon. “It’s challenging for both teams, but even more so for the road team.”
That trend was reinforced during the opening weekend of Patriot League play, which featured three home-and-home doubleheaders. Army West Point split with Colgate, while Lafayette and Lehigh did the same.
Needless to say, DeChellis was thrilled to see Navy sweep its weekend doubleheader against Bucknell. Senior captain Cam Davis led the way as the Midshipmen stormed back from a 17-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Bison, 78-69, Saturday then made just enough plays down the stretch to win a sloppy defensive struggle, 63-60, Sunday.
“This back-to-back is a real challenge for both teams, so I’m extremely happy we were able to come away with a couple wins,” DeChellis said. “I think it’s really important to protect your home court, then you have to try to steal one on the road. We feel very fortunate to be able to do both against Bucknell.”
Davis scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and took over offensively over the final five minutes as Navy closed Saturday’s game with a 35-9 run. Junior forward Richard Njoku contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and tons of positive energy for the Mids, who held the visitors without a field goal over the final 12:40.
Sunday night’s rematch, which tipped off at 6 p.m., was an uglier affair featuring lots of missed shots and turnovers.
Davis was the hero again, draining a go-ahead jumper with five seconds left then adding a pair of free throws as Navy escaped Sojka Pavilion with the narrow win.
Forward Paul Newman had given the host Bison a 60-59 lead by converting a three-point play on the previous possession. Newman posted up deep and made a layup then swished the free throw with 11.5 seconds left.
DeChellis elected to not call a timeout, putting the ball in the hands of Davis and trusting his senior captain to make a play. Davis drove left and got into the lane for a pull-up jumper that put the Midshipmen ahead, 61-60.
“We wanted Cam taking the last shot. That’s a late-game victory drill we do every day in practice and he executed it perfectly,” said DeChellis, who didn’t want Bucknell to have a chance to set its defense.
Freshman guard Deuce Turner made a mental mistake by heaving a desperation shot from backcourt even though there was still three seconds on the clock.
Davis was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made two free throws to give Navy a cushion.
DeChellis wisely had Njoku defend the inbounds pass from the baseline and the 6-foot-8 forward deflected Andrew Funk’s lob attempt to end the game.
Davis finished with 18 points to lead Navy (5-1, 2-0), which has now won five straight meetings with Bucknell. Junior swingman John Carter Jr. scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Midshipmen, who won Sunday despite shooting just 36 percent (23-for-64) from the field and committing 10 turnovers.
“Neither team shot the ball very well and that was because of fatigue. As you know, the legs are the first thing that goes,” DeChellis said. “I like our team. I like our grit, determination and toughness. I thought we made a lot of toughness plays this weekend.”
Junior guard Greg Summers led Navy in rebounding for the second straight game with seven. Sophomore guard Patrick Dorsey had a solid all-around game with four points, six rebounds and three assists.
Bucknell made 24 of 26 free throws, while Navy only made 11 of 20. DeChellis was particularly annoyed to see the Mids foul jump shooters several times and said the disparity at the charity stripe was the result of being tired.
“Everything was a step slow and we did some things defensively we just can’t do,” he said. “Good news is that Bucknell didn’t score many baskets down the stretch. Everything they got was from free throw line.”
It was a long, grueling Sunday that began in the morning with treatment for the players, film study and a late breakfast. The Midshipmen boarded the bus around 12:30 p.m. and arrived in Lewisburg just after 4.
Players were allowed to sleep for a few hours before being awakened at 2:30 to eat the pregame meal on the bus while watching more film. Players were told to stay awake the rest of the trip.
Upon arrival at Sojka Pavilion, strength and conditioning coordinator Brandon Spayd immediately put the players through a series of stretching exercises designed to get their bodies moving following the long bus ride.
Players then ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas and snack bars washed down by energy drinks to add fuel prior to pregame warmups.
“We talked a lot about the importance of having mental and physical toughness in this situation. It’s one thing to talk about it and plan for it, but quite another thing to actually go through it,” DeChellis said. “I thought our strategy and things we did to manage a grueling road trip worked fairly well.”
Navy has an experienced team with seven seniors or juniors in the regular rotation. The Midshipmen also have depth as DeChellis used 10 players in both games.
Davis, a second team All-Patriot League performer last season, has established himself as an early candidate for league Player of the Year honors this season. DeChellis feels fortunate to have a go-to player with ice water in his veins.
“Cam is very talented and playing with a lot of confidence. He played extremely well in both games this weekend,” DeChellis said.
Navy got 31 points from the bench Saturday and another 20 Sunday. Sophomore power forward Daniel Deaver scored 16 in the two games, while sophomore wing forward Jaylen Walker added 12. Dorsey contributed eight points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
“Our bench was tremendous both days,” DeChellis said. “When you’re playing two games in two days you need to use as many guys as possible. We were able to spread the minutes around pretty well.”
One disappointing development from the weekend was the play of Carter, who was averaging almost 14 points. Carter was held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting Saturday then made just 4 of 12 field goal attempts Sunday.
Navy emerged from the busy weekend banged up. Backup point guard Sean Yoder didn’t play in either game due to a knee injury. Starting forward Luke Loehr left Sunday’s game after just three minutes with a knee injury. Summers was sidelined down the stretch Sunday after taking an elbow to the eye.
Navy traveled four players that did not get into Sunday’s game in senior forward Alec Loehr, junior guard Christian Silva, sophomore forward Nate Allison and sophomore guard Christian Jones (Annapolis High).
Depending on the injury situation, DeChellis may need to go deeper into the bench in order to maintain a 10-man rotation.
“What I need to monitor now is recovery. How long does it take to recover from playing on Saturday and Sunday?” DeChellis said. “I’ve got to listen to feedback from the players.”
Navy is currently slated to be off this coming weekend because its games against Loyola Maryland Jan. 9 and 10 were postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Baltimore school’s program.
That would provide the wounded players plenty of time to rehabilitate and recover before the next weekend games against American Jan. 16 and 17. However, the Patriot League showed right away it is willing to shift the schedule on a moment’s notice.
Navy women’s basketball had a positive test for COVID-19 among a Tier 1 member of the program and its opening weekend games against Bucknell were postponed. Meanwhile, American also had a positive test and its games against Loyola Maryland were postponed.
The Patriot League announced Friday afternoon that Loyola would play Bucknell home-and-home on Saturday and Sunday instead.
“I’m preparing this week like we’re going to play this weekend,” DeChellis said. “If another program has a positive test and can’t play, the conference could slide [Navy] into that slot. We need to be flexible and ready to go at all times.”