Coming off a spirited but losing effort on the road against No. 18 North Carolina on Tuesday, Navy first-year men’s basketball coach Jon Perry expected the same energy from his team on Saturday against NJIT at Alumni Hall.
He got it — especially in the first half.
The Midshipmen (3-3) raced out to a 20-7 lead to start the game and never looked back in an 86-70 victory over the Highlanders (3-3) that featured dominant inside play by the Mids in the first half and some contentious fouls by both teams in the second.
Senior center Aidan Kehoe led five Navy players in double figures with a career-high 21 points, which included hitting 7 of 9 free throws — well above his career 30% average.
But before Kehoe got going, it was guard Jordan Pennick who ignited the offense. The junior scored eight of Navy’s first 20 points, including two three-pointers that negated NJIT’s zone defense early on. In the run, the Midshipmen hit eight of their first 10 shots and took advantage of four NJIT turnovers.
“We wanted to be able to be aggressive with our defense and have our defense create some offense for us and in the first half it really did,” Perry said.
NJIT responded with a 10-1 spurt as Navy missed its next five shots to pull within four points, 21-17, halfway through the first half. That’s when Kehoe took over the game.
The senior center scored 15 of Navy’s next 19 points, making all five shots he took from the field and, uncharacteristically, all five free throws from the line.
Kehoe’s struggles with free throws is well documented and he was happy that his inside and free throw games were in sync on this day.
“I was able to use my size and strength and get low. They were fouling and putting me up there and I’ve been working with Coach Perry [on free throws],” Kehoe said. “It’s always good to see a couple go in because then you know they can’t just foul you when you have an open shot and everything kind of opens up after that.”
Perry said that pounding the ball inside on NJIT was part of the game plan.
“We felt like we had an advantage. I thought the guys did a really good job of attacking the paint whether that was in transition or in the half court,” said Perry. “We are going to play through Aidan, and we are going to continue to do that. We had a goal of 40 points in the paint and we got 36. So that’s pretty good.”
Leading 40-25 with four minutes left in the half, the Mids got a five-point burst from senior forward Mike Woods, including an empathic dunk to stretch the lead to 20 points just before halftime.
At the break, Navy led 51-36 which was the first time since 2010 against Towson that the Mids had scored 50 or more points in the first half against a Division I opponent. The Mids also shot 63% in the first 20 minutes and scored 20 of their points off of NJIT turnovers.
NJIT showed some life in the second half as they raced out to a 14-7 lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman guard David Bolden. And with just over 14 minutes to play in the game, Navy’s Donovan Draper picked up his fourth foul, seemingly giving the Highlanders even more momentum.
However, that’s when Navy senior point guard Austin Benigni’s “patented” play put a charge into the Mids and the crowd.
For context, seemingly several times a game, Benigni dribbles the ball past halfcourt with a defender draped all over his back. The Navy guard then pumps the breaks, inevitably causing the opposing player to crash into him. It happened again Saturday and the second time came after NJIT had closed within eight points. Benigni stopped on a dime causing 6-foot-11 freshman Zack Scherler to barrel over him. The result was a flagrant foul and a momentum shift.
“It’s an easy way to get to the free throw line. I know teams always hate it, but [I tell them] they should try it – it’s free points if you want it,” Benigni said. “It’s just something I’ve done since I was in high school and it’s worked out for me. Other teams talk about how they watch it on film, but it still happens.”
“I wish he wouldn’t do it so much,” added Perry. “I’m worried about him getting hurt, but to his credit, he’s figured out something. A lot of really good players figure out things and it’s part of the game within the game.”
NJIT hung around for a bit longer as its double-teaming of Kehoe led to a few Navy turnovers, but Benigni’s two free throws and block shot, which led to a lay-up by Pennick, gave the Mids some breathing room and a 76-65 lead with just over four minutes to play.
Benigni would have another dust-up with an NJIT player moments later when he tried to swat the ball away, perhaps after a whistle was blown. It led to a technical foul and a casual response from the senior after the game.
“It got chippy a little bit but that’s basketball — it comes with the game. I think we handled it well,” said Benigni, who found out Friday that he would become a Navy pilot after graduation.
Navy was able to hit its free throws down the stretch and close the game out.
Benigni (20 points) Jinwoo Kim (13 points) and Pennick (17 points) all played more than 30 minutes. So too did Woods, whose 11 points and 11 rebounds marked his first career double-double.
Navy returns to action against Gardner-Webb at Alumni Hall on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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