LATEST HEADLINES

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Second-half run dooms Navy
Three minutes out of 40. That was the difference Monday night in the Midshipmen's 86-76 loss at San Diego State.

With Greg Sprink impressing his friends and family from back home in California with a lights-out shooting display and Chris Harris dropping precision bombs from the arc, Navy played right with the Aztecs most of the game.

The Mids were ahead 37-35 at the half and stretched the lead to 43-35 by scoring the first six points of the second half. Even after SDSU used a 12-2 run to take the lead, the Mids stuck around. It was still tied at 61-61 with 7:55 to play when the Aztecs took off on a 13-0 run that decided the game.

It happened quick; in three seconds less than three minutes actually. It was a stretch where Navy, which shot 49.2 percent (29-59) from the field and hit 15 of 33 threes, went 0 for 5, including three straight misses from the arc. SDSU hit three treys in the same span, and had three offensive rebounds, including two on the three-shot possession that capped the run.

Navy battled, but could not get closer than 9 the rest of the way against an Aztecs side that shot 51.8 percent (29-58) from the field and went to the foul line 30 times (making 23). SDSU held a 39-21 edge on the boards.

Granted Navy's perimeter style of play is not real conducive to getting to the foul line, but you might suspect a little home cooking (we say suspect because, still tired from Sunday's travel odyssey, we dozed off early and missed most of the CSTV broadcast) in a game when the visitors from the opposite coast don't shoot a single free throw in the first half and don't get to the line for the first time until there are less than four minutes left on the clock. The Mids finished 3 for 4 from the line.

Sprink, who came in shooting 32.1 percent from the field, proved the old adage about shooters needing to keep shooting by finishing with 26 points on 11 for 14 shooting, all three misses coming outside the arc (4 for 7). Harris added six threes and 22 points and Kaleo Kina chipped in with 11 for the Mids (3-8).

Louisville transfer Lorrenzon Wade led five Aztecs in double figures with 18 points.
Box score | SDSU quotes | SDSU notes | SD Union-Tribune | North County Times

Labels: ,

Published at 8:12 AM by Hoop Time.
Help Hoop Time