Yoder scores 17, defense dominates in win

Senior guard Sean Yoder scored 17 points and Navy men’s basketball put forth a suffocating defensive effort in beating Bucknell, 63-46, at Sojka Pavilion Wednesday night.

Yoder made 7 of 8 field goals, including all three 3-pointers he attempted. Senior forward Daniel Deavers totaled 12 points and nine rebounds in just 19 minutes of action because of foul trouble.

Senior forward Tyler Nelson just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds for Navy (11-10, 4-5), which has won three straight. Nelson added four assists and two steals in stuffing the stat sheet.

Andre Screen was the only player in double digits for Bucknell (8-14, 1-8) with 12 points. The Bison shot just 25% (12-for48) from the field. Screen, a 7-foot-1 center, got half his points from the free throw line.

Navy closed the first half with a 21-7 run to take a 25-18 lead into intermission.

“Really, really proud of our guys,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “We didn’t start the game real well offensively, but we defended then went on that run, which was really important.”

The Midshipmen opened the second half with a 17-3 run to take a commanding 42-21 advantage and were never threatened the rest of the way.

“We challenged the guys to come out at the start of the second half with some energy and try to make a statement, and they did,” DeChellis said. “We made some shots, defended and got the ball out in transition.”

Navy sat in second-to-last place in the Patriot League after suffering a five-game losing streak. However, the Midshipmen have rebounded and are now tied for sixth place.

Coming off two straight road wins, Navy returns to Annapolis at 2 p.m. Saturday to host American at Alumni Hall. It is a pivotal game in the conference race as the Eagles are one of three teams directly above the Mids with 5-4 records.