After nearly a nine-month wait, Navy's Don DeVoe reached his milestone last night at Alumni Hall.
The Midshipmen took control of Central Florida with their hawking defense in the second half and scored a 68-56 opening-game decision to present their coach with his 500th career victory.
DeVoe, 60, became the 17th active coach and 59th all time to claim 500 wins. It happened in the first game of his 30th season - the 11th at the academy, where he has won 172 games.
"I just feel so fortunate to be able to coach in that many games," said DeVoe, who has also been the head coach at Virginia Tech, Wyoming, Tennessee and Florida. "Through my career, I've never missed a game for health reasons. You've got to be pretty lucky to say that."
Navy was beset by numerous injury and inconsistency problems last season and lost eight of its last nine games, including the final five. The coach's 500th represented part of the barrier.
"That was weighing heavily on a lot of our minds last season," said center Mitch Moore, who topped four Navy double-figure scorers with 19 points. "We sat at 499 so long and it was just mixed in with everything else that wasn't getting done.
"It's a huge relief to get it and get the season started off right now. We owed this to Coach."
DeVoe credited a three-pointer by forward Scott Long just before the halftime buzzer with giving the Midshipmen the necessary momentum.
"That was a big basket that enabled us to run off the floor," DeVoe said. "And it gave us a positive locker room at the half."
The defense - an element often lacking in a slide to a 10-20 record last season - was evident after the break. The Midshipmen took Central Florida (0-1) almost completely out of its offensive rhythm and smothered the three-point threats of Ray Abellard and Al Miller (a combined 2-for-12 from long range).
Meanwhile, Marcell Cummings, who has been shifted from off guard to the point, knocked home two key three-pointers as Navy pulled away to an 11-point cushion.
Central Florida coach Kirk Speraw said Navy "took us out of some of our looks. You never like to lose, but to lose to somebody the caliber of coach DeVoe and what he stands for makes it a little bit easier."
Cummings finished with 13 points and Jason Jeanpierre and Francis Ebong each added 12, with Ebong climbing above the 500-point mark for his Navy career.
DeVoe will be honored Monday in pre-game ceremonies and at a post-game reception.
"Fortunately, we have this albatross out of the way," said DeVoe, who remembered starting five seniors at Virginia Tech in his first win, over Richmond in 1971. "No. 2 [this year] is far more important to me than No. 500.
"What's really important is that this team stays healthy and moves forward."
CENTRAL FLORIDA-Dotson 6-12 2-6 14, Bodden 1-5 1-2 3, Morentin 2-4 0-0 4, Miller 3-13 3-5 9, Boyd 2-2 1-1 5, Abellard 4-11 2-2 12, Lindbeck 1-3 0-0 3, Bakanowsky 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 20-52 12-20 56. NAVY-Ebong 5-8 2-6 12, Long 1-6 3-4 6, Moore 7-10 4-5 19, Jeanpierre 4-10 2-2 12, Cummings 4-8 2-3 13, Fernandez 0-0 0-0 0, Hooper 0-1 0-0 0, Ofori 0-1 0-0 0, Mathews 0-2 0-0 0, McCreary 1-2 2-3 4, Charles 1-2 0-0 2, Fannin 0-2 0-0 0, Bania 0-1 0-0 0, Mergerson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 15-23 68.
Halftime-Navy, 26-25. 3-Point goals-Central Florida 4-15 (Miller 0-4, Boyd 1-1, Abellard 2-8, Lindbeck 1-2), Navy 7-21 (Long 1-2, Moore 1-1, Jeanpierre 2-7, Cummings 3-6, Hooper 0-1, Ofori 0-1, Mathews 0-2, Bania 0-1). Fouled out-Boyd, Jeanpierre. Rebounds-Central Florida 36 (Boyd 9), Navy 36 (Long 7). Assists-Central Florida 7 (Abellard 3), Navy 14 (Jeanpierre 4). Total fouls-Central Florida 20, Navy 17. A-1,625.