Forwards Kiernan, Wieck take step up to guide Mids
Navy men’s basketball needed to get more production from its veteran returning players going into Wednesday’s home game against Coppin State.
In two outings this season, forwards George Kiernan and Evan Wieck along with point guard Hasan Abdullah were averaging just17 points amongthem. Twoof those three were much more aggressive offensively and played pivotal roles in leading the Midshipmen to their first win.
Kiernan drained three shots from beyond the arc in scoring 21 points while Wieck took the ball strong to the basket throughout in tying a career-high with 14 points as Navy steadily pulled away to beat Coppin State, 77-58, before an announced crowd of 664 at Alumni Hall.
“I’m really proud of our team. We got whacked by Old Dominion and Maryland so this was one of those games you sort of have to win,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said.
Kiernan, whoscored a total of13 points in losses to Old Dominion and Maryland, shot the ball with confidence in going 8-for-14 from the field. It was the third career game with 20 points or more for the 6-foot-7, 225-pound senior forward, who also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
“That’s George, that’s who he is. He can make open shots, put it on the floor, drive to the basket and get fouled. This is the first time we’ve seen it and this is the third game,” DeChellis said. “I thought George took one goofy shot off the dribble at the top of the key. Other than that, he took good shots.”
Wieck, who came in averaging just five points, would not be denied on several inside power moves in making 5 of 7 attempts. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound junior also had five rebounds and a career-high five assists.
“Evan has always been one of the toughest players I’ve gone against. He doesn’t shy away from any physicality,” Kiernan said. “He’s been really working hard on becoming a better scorer on the inside and you saw that tonight. He was able to just dominate the block. So we definitely want to keep feeding him the ball.”
Promising freshman swingman John Carter Jr. had another solid outing for Navy (1-2), which scored19 straight points early in the second half. Carter, a long-armed 6-foot-4, 188-pounder, scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Cam Davis, the only other returning varsity player who saw significant action a year ago, chipped in 10 points as the Mids defeated the Eagles for the second straight season.
“I saw some growth in our team so I was proud of them. At this point in time, after the two teams we played, it’s good to walk into the locker room and feel good about their effort,” said DeChellis, whose squad lost 67-44 at Old Dominion in the season opener on Nov. 6 and 78-57 to Maryland in the Veterans Classic last Friday night.
Abdullah, who contributed just 11 points in the first couple contests, was a little more of a factor offensively in netting seven for Navy. The 6-foot senior had four assists and committed just two turnovers, which marked an improvement over the first few games when he had more giveaways (12) than assists (8).
Senior forward Lamar Morgan and sophomore guard Dejuan Clayton scored13 points apiece for Coppin State (0-3), which is in the midst of an eight-game road trip to start the season.
“Yes, I was a little disappointed with our performance in the second half. We’ve got to learn how to compete for 40 minutes,” second-year Coppin coach Juan Dixon said. “We’ll change some things up in practice and teach our guys how to compete for an entire practice and hopefully we’ll get some carryover into the game.”