It took the bus carrying the Navy basketball team more than two hours to navigate through the ice and snow to the UMBC Fieldhouse last night, delaying the start of the game by an hour. The way the Midshipmen played in the first half, when they had more turnovers (17) than points (16), it was easy to believe they might have been better off being snowbound in Annapolis.
But the Mids (8-2) staged a spectacular comeback in the second half, overcoming a 14-point deficit with eight minutes left to tie it in regulation on Chris Williams' steal and layup with 14 seconds left.
Team captain Skip Victor, who seemingly willed the victory, took control in overtime, as Navy held on, 72-69, to end the Retrievers' five-game winning streak.
Victor, who had only four points at the half, finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals, several coming in the closing minutes of the second half to force the overtime.
"After the first half, Coach [Don] DeVoe told us we'd played [terribly]," said Victor.
"We came out flat and soft in the first half and our big men weren't doing anything to keep their big guys out of the paint and they were also getting open threes.
"We stepped up our defense in the second half and really pressured the ball, and [Reggie] Skipworth did a great job running our offense. They pushed us to the brink, but we showed a lot of confidence and character to pull this one out."
UMBC (5-5) had numerous opportunities to force another overtime after a pair of free throws by Victor gave the Mids a 71-65 cushion with 2: 09 left.
Sophomore guard Terence Ward made a three-pointer and center Kennedy Okafor one of two free throws to close to 71-69 with 34 seconds remaining.
Skipworth then hit one of two foul shots for a three-point edge. Okafor missed a layup and Ward was long with a three-point shot.
When Chris Williams stepped out of bounds, the Retrievers had a final chance with four seconds left.
DeVoe inserted sophomore center Mike Cunningham to defend the inbounds pass, and Cunningham was quick enough to switch off and block Ward's desperation three at the buzzer.
Okafor (16 points and 10 rebounds) had been the main force for the Retrievers in the first half, when he scored 10 points to help build a 29-16 cushion.
In the second half, Navy center Josh Williams and power forward Sitapha Savane did better at denying the pass to the post while Victor, Skipworth and Chris Williams pressured UMBC's ball-handlers.
The Mids also gave the Retrievers few second shots, finishing with a 50-38 rebounding edge, led by Savane, who grabbed 11.
UMBC coach Tom Sullivan said he was not surprised by Navy's comeback.
"They made us do things we didn't want to do in the second half," he said. "That's a hallmark of DeVoe's teams."
And Sullivan did not hang his head after the defeat.
"I thought it was a great college basketball game," said Sullivan. "It was unfortunate we came out on the short end, but I think our kids realize now that there are several critical junctions in a game, and you have to play hard down to the final second."
Pub Date: 12/24/98