Navy Midshipmen Wrap Up Cathedral Classic With Back-to-Back Losses

The Navy Midshipmen ended up going losing two out of three games at this weekend’s Cathedral Classic.

Nov 9, 2018; Annapolis, MD, USA; Navy head coach Ed DeChellis reacts during the first half against Maryland at Alumni Hall. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen men’s basketball team wrapped up play in the Cathedral Classic on Sunday with a 71-66 loss to Maine at Philadelphia’s legendary Palestra.

On Saturday, the Midshipmen lost to Elon, 69-63. Navy tipped off the event with a win over Penn, the tournament host.

The Midshipmen (3-6) used a 11-0 run in the first half to build a 16-6 lead and then hung onto it going into the locker room, up 33-28. The game got away from them in the second half.

Maine (5-4) started the second half on a 27-12 run, erasing the Navy lead and putting the Black Bears in control of the game.

For the Black Bears that included an 11-of-14 start from the field and forcing five Midshipmen turnovers.

Navy nearly overcame the entire deficit, cutting the lead to 65-64 with 1:30 left. But, Maine held on down the stretch.

Aidan Kehoe led the Midshipmen with 16 points, along with 12 rebounds, for his first career double-double. Jinwoo Kim added 13 points off the bench for Navy. Austin Benigni had a team-high five assists.

Maine’s Quion Burns led the Black Bears with 21 points. Kellen Tynes added 19 points and a game-high eight assists. A.J. Lopez scored 10 points.

In Saturday’s loss to Elon, the Midshipmen and Phoenix barely shot 32% combined. But, Elon had an edge at the 3-point line (32% to 25%) and on the glass (49-43), which helped the Phoenix pull out the win.

The Phoenix had a 35-27 lead at the break and because Navy was unable to get its shooting on track, it wasn’t able to fully make up the gap. The Midshipmen made two separate runs early in the second half to make it a close game. But Elon answered both times and maintained a double-digit lead until the final minute.

Benigni led Navy with 18 points and was one of the few players with a quality shooting game, going 7-of-12 from the floor. Sam Krist came off the bench to score 12 points while Cam Cole added 11 points. Jack Medalie led the Middies with seven rebounds, along with eight points.  

Elon’s Nick Dorn led the Phoenix with 21 points while TK Simpkins scored 20 points. TJ Simpkins added 15 points off the bench.

The Midshipmen have four games the rest of December, all of which are away from Annapolis. The extended trip includes games at NJIT on Dec. 7, Virginia Tech on Dec. 15, Coppin State on Dec. 21 and William & Mary on Dec. 29.

Navy then opens up Patriot League action on Jan 2 at home against American.