BALTIMORE – Jaylen Walker made a short-corner jumper with 11 seconds left that switched the lead for the fourth time in the final 2:20, and it was enough for the U.S. Naval Academy to hold off Loyola University Maryland men's basketball, 56-55, on Saturday evening in a Patriot League game in Reitz Arena.
 
Walker's 15-foot jumper gave the Midshipmen (15-8 overall, 8-4 Patriot League) the lead after Cam Spencer had scored for Loyola with 29 ticks on the clock to give the Greyhounds (13-10, 7-5) a 55-54 edge.
 
After Walker's basket, Loyola took a full timeout with nine seconds on the clock, but Navy knocked a pass out of bounds with 4.9 seconds left in regulation.
 
Spencer got the inbounds and had a look at the three from the top of the perimeter, but it went off the iron. Kenneth Jones got the rebound, but his jumper came after the buzzer, and Navy left with the win.
 
In a game that featured eight ties and eight lead changes, the Greyhounds went up by six, 41-35, after Spencer had a steal on the defensive end and then caught Jaylin Andrews pass in the left corner to bury a three with 12:30 on the clock.
 
Navy, however, scored the next six points to tie the game at 41-41 on two Richard Njoku free throws at 9:10. Veljko Ilic and Patrick Dorsey traded baskets for their teams, and the score remained tied before Jaylin Andrews knocked down a three at 8:03 to put Loyola up 46-43 at 8:03.
 
Navy, however, scored nine-straight to lead by a half-dozen at 4:28 on two John Carter Jr. free throws.
 
Andrews stopped the run when he cut to the basket from the top of the circle and caught a Veljko Ilic pass, converting it for two while drawing a foul at 4:12. Ilic then scored himself as he drove the right side of the lane for a pair at 3:17, and after another defensive stop, Andrews put Loyola back in front at 2:19 with a three from the right side off a Spencer skip pass.
 
Neither Navy, nor Loyola scored for more than 90 seconds until Greg Summers converted in the paint for the Midshipmen with 46 ticks left to give them a 54-53 advantage.
 
Navy called a timeout, and out of that, Loyola got back on top on Spencer's last basket. He slipped down the right side, and Veljko Ilic found him with a pass for a layup.
 
Spencer led all players with 18 points, while Andrews added 13, and Veljko Ilic tallied eight. Carter and Daniel Deaver both had 15 for Navy.
 
Loyola heads on the road for its next game, traveling to Worcester, Massachusetts, for a Wednesday, February 9, contest at College of the Holy Cross.