Navy senior forward Scott Long didn't play last year when the Midshipmen went into The Citadel's gym and got beat by 36 points. In fact, he didn't even make the trip to South Carolina. He was at home in Annapolis, injured and frustrated.
"I remember listening to the game on the radio and feeling a little helpless," Long said. "They really roughed us up. It was probably the worst game we played last year. I think that got us a little motivated. They probably came here tonight thinking we were sorry."
If The Citadel thought that way, Navy did its best to change the Bulldogs' minds last night at Alumni Hall. Long tied his career high with 15 points and the Mids again played tight defense to earn a 57-51 win.
"Defensively, I was pleased with our focus," said Navy coach Don DeVoe. "I think we did a nice job of keeping them from getting into any kind of rhythm shooting the basketball. Offensively, we're still trying to find our way, but overall I think it was a good effort."
Jason Jeanpierre added 14 points, and Mitch Moore and Marcell Cummings chipped in eight each.
The Citadel got a nice boost from Baltimore native Kevin Hammack, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard from North County High who scored 16 points and hit four three-pointers.
"Obviously I know Kevin real well and I wanted him to come here an awful lot," DeVoe said. "But he didn't and I wish him all the best. He's got a tremendous career ahead of him."
Navy (2-0), thanks to some tough baskets inside from Long, jumped ahead 24-19 at halftime, and looked in control by holding the Citadel (1-1) to 32 percent shooting (seven of 22). But the Mids kept it close by going just three of 13 from the free-throw line before intermission.
"Navy really played hard and they tired us out," said Citadel coach Pat Dennis. "They kept us in the game because they couldn't hit a free throw."
Six-foot-8 forward Max Mombollet, who had nine points in the first half on some nice low post moves, helped the Bulldogs tie the game at 32-32 with 11:56 left to play, but didn't score again until he hit a desperation three-pointer with 4.2 seconds. Navy hit 12 of 15 free throws in the second half to win somewhat comfortably.
THE CITADEL-Krywonis 1-1 2-2 4, Mombollet 7-14 1-1 16, Joseph 1-4 2-5 4, Milford 1-8 1-2 3, Hammack 6-11 0-1 16, Terry 1-1 0-0 3, Wilson 0-3 0-2 0, Wormley 0-2 0-0 0, Tobias 1-1 0-0 3, Jones 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 19-49 6-13 51. NAVY-Ebong 1-4 2-5 4, Long 6-8 3-6 15, Moore 3-6 2-4 8, Jeanpierre 4-13 4-4 14, Cummings 3-9 0-0 8, Fernandez 0-1 0-0 0, Ofori 0-0 0-0 0, Mathews 0-0 0-0 0, McCreary 0-0 3-5 3, Charles 2-2 1-3 5. Totals 19-43 15-27 57. Half: Navy, 24-19. 3-point goals: C 7-19 (Hammack 4-8, Mombollet 1-1, Terry 1-1, Tobias 1-1, Joseph 0-2, Wormley 0-2, Milford 0-4); N 4-15 (Cummings 2-6, Jeanpierre 2-7, Fernandez 0-1, Long 0-1). Rebounds: C 32 (Joseph 10); N 33 (Ebong, Long, Moore 7). Assists: C 11 (Joseph 4); N 13 (Moore 4). Total fouls: C 25, N 16. Fouled out: Krywonis. A: 1,875.