PRINCESS ANNE -- The game plan was simple: Reduce the turnovers, play stout defense and gain some revenge.
Navy accomplished all three last night at Tawes Gymnasium and cruised to its first basketball victory of the season, 62-51, over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Coach Don DeVoe was obviously happier with this result than with an ugly 85-76 opening loss at Air Force in which the Midshipmen took poor care of the ball and allowed Falcons guard Otis Jones to explode for 37 points.
"This is a tremendous win for us considering they pretty much handled us last year [82-71 at Annapolis] and because we needed to come out and prove ourselves on the road early," said DeVoe.
Two of the heroes of last year's march to the Patriot League championship, guards Brian Walker and T. J. Hall, began Game 2 on the bench after sub-par efforts at Air Force.
"I feel a lot better now," said Walker, a point guard who rebounded with a solid game. "It was a rough game out there [Colorado]. I don't think we came out real focused and committed too many unforced errors."
UMES (0-2) rolled to an early 10-3 edge as its frontcourt of Kenya Mobley and John Woods accounted for all the points.
But Hall entered at the 14:56 mark and Walker soon followed and Navy quickly regrouped. Randy Torgrimson knocked in most of the key baskets, including two three-pointers, to keep the Midshipmen in range.
Torgrimson's three-pointer, plus a free throw after the shot, put the Midshipmen ahead for good at 31-27 and the Hawks began rushing shots and playing one-on-one offense.
Without top scorers Dale Harrison and Zach Allison from last year's 16-12 club, there weren't many offensive options for UMES after Mobley cooled off, leaving most of the burden on guard Terrell Harris (18 points).
"The bottom line is that when you hold someone to 62 points you should win," said Hawks first-year coach Jeff Menday.
Navy (1-1) capitalized on the UMES misfires to widen its advantage to 56-40, the largest of the game, before the Hawks mounted a comeback.
Nine straight points, coupled with four turnovers by the Midshipmen, brought UMES to within seven (56-49) with 6:48 remaining.
But freshman Michael Heary hit a three from the corner to restore the lead to 10 and Navy played hang-to-the-basketball the rest of the game, whittling away the 45-second clock.
DeVoe found nothing wrong with the shot fired by Heary, whom he called "a fine shooter."
"He was wide open for a shot he makes in practice," he said. "We were on attack and he attacked."
A few minutes later, however, the coach pulled Heary after he lofted a quick three-pointer while the team was freezing the ball.
"There wasn't revenge in mind because they beat us last year, but there was a little extra incentive," said Torgrimson, who led Navy with 15 points. "We did the things we had to."