Mids cruise past Washington
Coach DeChellis plays 18 players in third straight win
NAVY@MOUNT ST. MARY’S Saturday, 2 p.m. Stream: NEC Front Row
Coming off two wins in last weekend’s tournament in South Carolina, and on the eve of Thanksgiving, Navy men’s basketball cleared the bench in Alumni Hall Wednesday afternoon while rolling to an 89-40 victory over Washington College.
The Mids are now 4-2 on the season with a three-game win streak. Navy has also defeated Virginia, Radford and Furman, with the two losses coming against Atlantic Coast Conference foes Virginia Tech and Louisville.
“We had a great weekend of basketball on the road. Winning two games there was very important, then we came back here and had a total team effort,” said Navy coach Ed DeChellis. “We have played six games, won four of them and played three games against ACC teams.”
After a 15-3 regular-season record against conference opponents during last year’s season affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Navy returned four seniors and nine juniors this season. The experience is evident, as is the cohesion of the returning players.
“I am very pleased with our guys. They have given us a good effort every night,” said DeChellis, who earned his 350th career win on Saturday against Radford. “Our seniors have done a great job so far in the leadership role. I am really proud of our team overall.”
DeChellis played 18 players against Washington College, and all of them scored. Several players scored their first career points. Senior guard John Carter Sr. led the Mids with 10 points, David Deaver and Greg Summers each had seven and Tyler Nelson was the game’s leading rebounder with nine.
“It is great when coach can get all the guys in the game,” Carter said. “It’s special to see some of the guys playing who don’t play much, and to see them score their first college points. I’m grateful to get to play as much as I have, some of the guys who played today don’t get much playing time.”
Navy built a 47-13 halftime lead. The Mids scored a school-record 21 unanswered points at one point in the first half to stretch their lead from 23-11 to 44-11.
Richard Njoku started the record run with a slam-dunk that put Navy ahead 25-11 with 10:18 to play. After Christian Jones scored a layup to make Navy’s lead 31 points, 44-13, the Shoremen’s Sam Corrao stopped the scoring streak with 2:37 left.
Navy finished the first half making 19 of 31 field-goal tries (61.3%) while holding Washington College to just four first-half buckets (4 for 24, 16.7%). The Shoremen made just one 3-pointer in 13 tries before halftime. Navy outrebounded Washington, 26-10. The rout carried over to the second half as the Mids scored 13 in a row early on for a 64-22 lead.
Navy had 27 rebounds on 37 baskets and 19 steals for the game. The Mids also outrebounded Washington College, 41-24. Navy made nine of 24 3-pointers.
“We played under control. We had strong offensive play and good defensive effort,” said DeChellis.
Carter said the Mids didn’t get as much of a challenge from the Shoremen as they had gotten from their first five opponents.
“We weren’t playing the same level of opponent. We expected to have the kind of game we did today,” Carter said.