ANNAPOLIS, Md. –
Braeden Speed made a 3-pointer with 9:59 left in regulation to draw Loyola University Maryland even with the U.S. Naval Academy, but the Midshipmen used a 14-2 run to break open the final men's basketball game of the Patriot League regular season and go on to an 81-68 victory.
Loyola will enter next week's Patriot League Championships as the No. 8 seed and host Lehigh University on Tuesday, March 4, in a 7 p.m. game in Reitz Arena.
The Greyhounds led by as many as seven in the first half and were up four at the break, 39-35, after shooting better than 57 percent from the field in the first half.
Navy (13-18 overall, 10-8 Patriot League) tied the game twice in the first two minutes of the second half, but Loyola (11-18, 6-12) regained the lead both times.
A
Troy Cicero Jr. 3-pointer with 16:00 to play on the clock to push the lead to 49-43 in Loyola's favor.
Lysander Rehnstrom made a three for Navy with 14:05 to play, cutting the lead to a point. After
Veljko Ilic made one of two at the line on Loyola's next possession, Aidan Kehoe scored for the Midshipmen to tie the game at 50-50.
Navy took a two-point lead at 12:47, but
David Brown III grabbed an offensive rebound and scored in the paint just under two minutes later to level the score at 52-52.
Rehnstrom, who finished with 11 points, made another three at 10:38, and the Midshipmen were up three before Speed's three 49 seconds later drew the teams even again.
Loyola then scored on just one of its next 10 possessions, six of which ended in turnovers, and Navy's 14-2 run gave the Midshipmen the first double-digit lead of the game for either team.
Austin Benigni scored a game-high 24 points for Navy to lead all scorers. Donovan Draper grabbed 14 rebounds for the Midshipmen, but Loyola had a small 34-32 advantage on the boards.
Milos Ilic made 7 of 9 shots for the Greyhounds and had a team-best 15 points.
Veljko Ilic added 10 points and nine rebounds, and
Jordan Stiemke scored 12.
Jacob Theodosiou dished out a career-high nine assists for Loyola.
