Game #24 / Patriot League Game #13 • American
Wednesday, Feb. 14 • 7 p.m. • Alumni Hall • Annapolis, Md.
Multimedia Information
Live Streaming - ESPN+ / Pete Medhurst, Mike Heary
Navy Radio - WNAV AM-1430, FM-99.9, www.iheart.com/live/999-wnav-9420, Audacy app / Pete Medhurst, Mike Heary
Live Statistics - NavySports.com
Five Starting Notes
1 – Navy and American are meeting for the 104th time and 63rd season since the inaugural game on Feb. 2, 1929.
2 – Eleven of the last 15 games in the series have been decided by single digits.
3 – This is the 30th season in which Navy and American are members of the same conference. The teams first shared membership in the ECAC South / Colonial Athletic Association for seven seasons (1984-85 to 1990-91) and have been members of the Patriot League since the 2001-02 season.
4 – Navy's current roster has totaled 209 minutes played and 71 points in games against the Eagles. The current American team has tallied 943 minutes and 237 points in games played against the Mids.
5 – The visiting team won all three games played between the teams last season.
Game Information
• Navy (8-14, 4-8) returns to Alumni Hall Wednesday night (7 p.m.) for the team's 13th Patriot League game of the year but first against American (13-12, 7-5).
• The game will be streamed through ESPN+.
• Locally, WNAV will carry the game on the radio.
• Links to live statistics from the game can be accessed at NavySports.com.
Last Game
• The Mids battled from a nine-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but fell, 69-67, at Army on Saturday.
• Navy took an eight-point first half lead but Army built a nine-point second-half advantage.
• The Black Knights led, 56-47, with 3:44 remaining. A pair of free throws by Mitch Fischer with 4.7 seconds remaining tied the game at 56 and forced overtime.
• Army led, 66-63 with 6.1 seconds left. Austin Benigni was fouled with 5.2 seconds remaining. He made both foul shots.
• The Mids then forced a turnover with the ball going out of bounds with 4.2 seconds left.
• Mac MacDonald was fouled with 2.9 seconds left. He too made both attempts to give Navy a 67-66 lead.
• Army threw a three-quarter court inbounds pass to Josh Scovens who was fouled with 1.8 seconds left. He made three free throws to close out the scoring.
About American
• American makes the short drive to Annapolis with an overall record of 13-12 (5-9 in road games) and a Patriot League record of 7-5 (3-3 in road games).
• The Eagles have lost their last two games by a total of three points. American fell to Loyola, 44-43, on Feb. 7 and dropped a 58-56 decision at Holy Cross on Feb. 10.
Series History
• The teams first met Feb. 2, 1929, when Navy defeated American, 46-21, in Annapolis.
• Wednesday's game will be No. 104 in the series.
• Navy holds a 52-51 edge in the series. The Mids lead the Eagles, 33-23, in games played in Annapolis, but American has a 14-11 advantage in games played in Alumni Hall.
• 11 of the last 15 games in the series have been decided by single digits.
• American leads the Patriot League series between the teams, 29-17. This includes a 13-10 advantage in games played in Annapolis.
• The teams also met annually for seven years (1985-91) as members of the ECAC South Conference / Colonial Athletic Association. Navy led American, 8-6, in conference regular season games played during that era.
Series Longevity
• Navy has faced American the second-most times of any opponent in school history.
• The Mids have played 141 games against Army and this will be the 104th game against American.
• This is the 63rd season in which American and Navy are facing each other. That ranks third for the most seasons in which the Mids have played an opponent.
• Navy has played Army in 101 seasons and Penn in 78 seasons.
American-Navy Series Venues
• Navy and American have faced each other in seven different cities and 10 different venues. The 10 arenas is a high for any Navy series and the seven different cities ranks second (to Navy-Duke in eight).
American-Navy Series Cities and Venues
Annapolis, Md. – Dahlgren Hall, Halsey Field House, Alumni Hall
Arlington, Va. – Fort Myer Ceremonial Hall
Landover, Md. – Capital Centre
Lewisburg, Pa. – Sojka Pavilion
Richmond, Va. – Richmond Coliseum
Upper Marlboro, Md. – Show Place Arena
Washington, D.C. – STARPLEX (D.C. Armory), Bender Arena
On This Date
• Navy has posted an 17-16 record in games played on Feb. 14. This includes a 5-4 record in Patriot League games.
• This will be the third Navy-American game to be played on Feb. 14 (1985, 1987).
Against The District
• Navy has posted a 141-98 record in games played against opponents located in Washington, D.C.
Up Next
• Navy returns to the road this weekend when it plays Saturday at Boston U.
Benigni Rarely on the Bench Recently
• Austin Benigni has been Navy's Ironman over the last number of games.
• He currently stands first among Navy's highest percentage of minutes played during the Patriot League regular season at 91.5 percent of possible minutes (439 of 480).
Navy Bench Has Been a Strength
• The Mids have received an average of at least 20 points a game from their bench since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
• The Navy reserve players have outscored their foes 487-328 this year.
• Navy ranks third in the Patriot League and 138th nationally in bench scoring this season (21.3 ppg).
Positive Turnover Margin
• Navy is on pace to again have a positive turnover margin (fewer turnovers committed than forced).
• The Mids lead the Patriot League and rank ninth nationally with a 4.7 turnover margin this season.
• The Mids are scoring an average of 5.9 points per game after turnovers more than their foes this year.
Good Again on the Offensive Boards
• Navy has been very good over the last number of years at winning the offensive rebound margin.
• The Mids rank first in the Patriot League and 52nd nationally this season with an average of 12.26 offensive rebounds per game.
Second-Chance Points
• Navy has scored more second-chance points than its foes in 194 of the 287 games (67.6%) it has played since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Mike Woods Key on the Offensive Glass
• 66 of the 193 career points (34.2%) scored by Mike Woods have been second-chance points.
• Navy has scored on 40 of the 70 (57.1%) career possessions in which Woods has grabbed an offensive rebound.
Draper's Boards and Steals Remain High
• Navy has scored on 37 of the 72 (51.4%) possessions in which Donovan Draper has grabbed an offensive rebound.
• Draper's offensive rebound average (3.26 org) currently ranks fourth by a Mid in a season since it became an official statistics with the 1986-87 season.
• Draper's defensive rebound average (6.00 drpg) currently ranks second by a Mid in a season since it became an official statistics with the 1986-87 season.
• Draper has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 11 games this season. That is tied for the most by a Mid during Navy's Patriot League era (Hassan Booker, 1997).
• Draper also ranks among the leaders for the most double-doubles during Navy's Patriot League era. He has posted eight and the standard is 10 (Hassan Booker in 1997 and 1998).
Navy Pace
• Navy traditionally has been one of the more deliberate teams in terms of possessions per game under head coach Ed DeChellis.
• The Mids rank fourth in the Patriot League and 272nd in the country with an average of 66.1 possessions a game this season.
• American ranks ninth in the league and 351st out of 362 teams nationally with an average of 63.3 possessions a game.
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