Navy Midshipmen End Hoops Losing Streak in Cathedral Classic Opener

The Navy Midshipmen opened up the Cathedral Classic with a commanding win over the Penn Quakers.

Dec 7, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Navy Midshipmen guard Austin Benigni (1) drives during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. / Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The Navy Midshipmen men's basketball team pulled out of 86-78 win over Penn on Friday night in the first game of the Cathedral Classic, held at the legendary Palestra in Philadelphia.

Navy (3-4) was coming off a 94-43 win over Washington College (Md.), which ended a three-game losing streak.

Penn (2-4) received a huge game from Ethan Roberts, who torched the Midshipmen for 33 points. But that wasn’t enough to help the Quakers overcome a nine-point deficit at halftime.

Austin Benigni played a huge role in Navy’s win, as he finished the game with 16 points and five assists. He only shot 3-of-12 from the field, including two 3-pointers, but he went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, as the Midshipmen went 23-of-28 from the line for the contest.

Navy’s free-throw shooting helped in the second half, as it was outscored by Penn by a point.

Jack Medalie and Cam Cole here big helps off the bench for Navy. Medalie had 14 points with six rebounds and two assists in just 15 minutes. Cole scored 12 points and grabbed two rebounds in 19 minutes.

Jordan Pennick added 10 points and two rebounds. Navy shot 40% for the game, including a 46.9% clip from the 3-point line and 82.1% from the free-throw line. The Midshipmen had 45 bench points and scored 13 points off Penn turnovers.

Roberts’ outburst for Penn included an 11-for-18 shooting game, with two 3-pointers, and a 9-for-13 night at the free-throw line.

Nick Spinoso scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and finished with a double-double with 13 rebounds. Sam Brown added 11 points.

Penn shot 46.7% for the game, including 24.1% from the 3-point line, along with a 62.5% clip from the free-throw line. The Quakers scored 40 points in the paint but only scored eight points off Navy turnovers.

The Cathedral Classic continues this weekend with two more games for Navy. First up is Elon at 2 p.m. eastern on Saturday, followed by Maine at noon on Sunday.

After that, the Midshipmen have four more games in December, all on the road. Navy will face 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.