On a night at the Naval Academy when 1950s rock and roll music was featured at halftime, there were seemingly more Elvis sightings than there were Holy Cross scorers.
The Crusaders, who lead the Patriot League in scoring (72.0) and have the No. 7 scorer in the nation in senior forward Rob Feaster (25.0 ppg), never got untracked at Alumni Hall last night. The Midshipmen jumped out to a 30-5 lead in the first 12 minutes and coasted to a 78-52 victory, their fourth straight and sixth in the last seven games.
Feaster finished with a game-high 20 points, but it was deceiving. He made seven of 20 field-goal attempts and 11 of his points came in the final minutes after Navy (14-8, 6-4) had gained a 67-40 advantage.
It was a complete reversal of form from the previous meeting on Jan. 14, when the Crusaders (10-11, 5-5) gained an early lead and won, 87-77.
"This was one of those landmark games when things kept going our way in the first half and we never let them back in the game," said Navy coach Don DeVoe.
Defense was the key as Holy Cross missed 24 of 28 shots in the first half. Senior guard Gordon Hamilton converted a layup 27 seconds into the game, but the Crusaders would not make another basket until Feaster banked home a jumper with 7:51 left in the half.
Feaster finished the first half with nine points on 3-for-12 shooting, but was clearly frustrated trying to work himself free.
"I thought [freshman forward] Mike Green did as good a job as you can possibly do on big-time scorer like Feaster, who can play all over the floor," said DeVoe.
Offensively, the Mids, who gained sole possession of third place in the Patriot League, were balanced. Four players contributed double figures, led by Michael Heary (18 points).
Senior forward Wes Cooper turned in another solid game (15 points, 10 rebounds) and helped Navy to a 49-32 rebounding edge.
"Cooper's baskets were so silent," said DeVoe. "You tend to take him for granted, but he gets as much out of his [6-5] height as anyone I've ever coached."