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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
New-look Navy snaps skid
(Originally posted Tues. at 9:51 p.m, links added at 7:319 a.m.)
Billy Lange shook up the Midshipmen's starting lineup and shook out a 71-60 win over Canisius, ending a three-game losing streak.

Brian Richards, a 6-9 junior who toiled on Navy's jayvee squad all of his freshman and most of his sophomore seasons, got his first varsity start and made the most of it. Richards, one of three changes in the first five and one of two players making their first career start, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds, five on the offensive glass.

Richards boardwork was a big part of the Navy win. The Mids only shot 39.1 percent from the field (27-69), and made just 4 of 12 from the three-point arc. But Navy held a 42-36 edge on the boards, with 16 of those rebounds on the offensive glass.

Defense had a little to do with it, too. The Mids forced 30 Canisius turnovers. That offset the edge the Golden Griffins had from the floor. Canisius shot better, hitting 45.1 percent from the field. But they only took 51 shots (making 23). Canisius was 7 for 21 at the arc, but just 7 of 14 at the foul line.

In addition to taking 18 more shots from the field, Navy went to the line 19 times, connecting on 13.

Greg Sprink led the scoring for Navy, which broke open a 49-49 tie on a Sprink free throw with 6:56 to go and pulled away from there.

Kaleo Kina, replaced in the starting lineup by 6-4 freshman Romeo Garcia, responded with 10 points and three steals off the bench. The third change in the Navy starting five came at center, where Ben Biles reclaimed his starting spot after having lost it to 6-10 freshman Jeremy Wilson last time out.
Box score | Buffalo News | AP

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Published at 9:31 AM by Hoop Time.
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