Navy 54, IPFW 49
With the game close in the second half, Navy freshman Kendall Knorr delivered, and he had a perfect night in the process.
Knorr scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the second half and made all six of his shots, including three 3-pointers, as Navy held on for a 54-49 win over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on Wednesday at Alumni Hall.
The Midshipmen (4-4) surpassed their win total from all of last season.
IPFW (4-4) cut the lead to one, holding the Midshipmen scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the second half, but after Brandon Venturini broke the scoring drought on a fast-break layup and a 3-pointer, Knorr took over.
Knorr scored 13 points in a five-minute span of the second half to give the Midshipmen a 49-36 lead at the 4:30 mark. The Mastodons then went on a 13-3 run, with an Isaiah McCray 3-pointer whittling the lead to three with 41 seconds left.
A missed Navy shot gave the Mastodons a chance to tie, but the Midshipmen elected to foul McCray and put him on the line. He missed the first of two free throws, and then the Mastodons committed a lane violation.
Navy's Worth Smith made two free throws to put the game out of reach, and as at the end of the first half, the Mastodons made a 3-pointer that came after the buzzer.
The Midshipmen opened the game strong, scoring 14 of the first 16 points, but the Mastodons rallied. Four of IPFW's six first-half baskets came from behind the 3-point arc, cutting the gap to 18-16 before the Midshipmen closed the half with six straight points.
McCray finished with 10 points, and Mario Hines added eight for the Mastodons, who shot 37 percent (17-for-46) from the field and just 40 percent (6-for-15) from the foul line.
Venturini added 11 points and Smith 10 for the Midshipmen, who shot 44.4 percent (20-for-45).
