<p>Navy ship ahead of schedule under Lange</p>
<p>Posted on the Daily Item:</p>
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An unshaven Billy Lange, minus his usual suit and tie, was interviewed a few hours prior to Navy's game at Villanova on Nov. 25.</p>
<p>Lange, former assistant for Wildcats head coach Jay Wright, was featured on Comcast Sports Net's Villanova basketball show....
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<p>Published in the Allentown Morning Call:</p>
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Tune-up time has passed. Starting Saturday, the games that matter most to the Patriot League's eight men's basketball teams arrive.</p>
<p>The non-conference portion of the season saw Navy and Army, predicted by the league's coaches and sports information directors to finish at the bottom of the standings, both produce surprising 10-5 starts. Bucknell, picked to win its third straight PL title, finished its pre-league schedule a game under .500 (6-7)....
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<p>NAVY (10-5 / 0-0) at BUCKNELL (6-7 / 0-0)
January 6, 2007 ? 7:00 pm (EST)
Sojka Pavilion (4,000) ? Lewisburg, Pa.
RADIO: WNAV (1430 AM), WFED (1050 AM)
INTERNET: <a href="http://www.wnav.com%5B/url%5D">www.wnav.com</a>, <a href="http://www.federalnewsradio.com%5B/url%5D">www.federalnewsradio.com</a>, <a href="http://www.yahoosports.com%5B/url%5D">www.yahoosports.com</a>
VIDEO STREAMING: <a href="http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D">www.navysports.com</a> (Navy All-Access Users), <a href="http://www.patriotleague.com%5B/url%5D">www.patriotleague.com</a> (Patriot League All-Access Users)</p>
<p>Tipping It Off</p>
<p>Navy will tip off its second season this weekend as it travels to two-time defending Patriot League champion Bucknell for a 7:00 pm start on Saturday. The Mids concluded their non-conference portion of the schedule with a 10-5 record, their best non-conference mark in seven years. The game will be streamed online to Navy All-Access subscribers at <a href="http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D">www.navysports.com</a> or as part of the Patriot League package at <a href="http://www.patriotleague.com%5B/url%5D">www.patriotleague.com</a>. Bob Socci will handle the play-by-play duties on the airwaves on both WNAV (1430 AM) and WFED (1050 AM), starting at 6:45 pm.</p>
<p>On This Date in Navy History</p>
<p>January 6th - Navy is 12-11 all-time on January 6, including 1-0 against Bucknell. Navy defeated the Bison, 57-53, to kick off the Patriot League season in 1999. No Navy player has ever played on Jan. 6.</p>
<p>**Series History[/b[]</p>
<p>? Navy leads the all-time series, 29-20.
? Since Navy's last win against the Bison (Jan. 30, 2005), Bucknell has won 26-of-27 games against Patriot League opponents.
? The Bison have won six of the last seven contests in the series. Prior to the current run, Navy won seven-of-eight in the series.
? Sojka Pavilion has been a house of horrors for the Mids, as they have lost all four games by a combined average of 26.0 ppg. Bucknell handed Navy its worst Patriot League loss ever, 87-46, on Jan. 17, 2004.</p>
<p>ut Bucknell</p>
<p>Preseason Patriot League favorite Bucknell will open defense of its two league titles with a 6-7 record, following an up-and-down start. The Bison have played one of the toughest schedules (SOS - 75) in the country, falling to Albany, Wake Forest, Saint Joseph's, Penn State, Northern Iowa and Texas Tech. Its other loss came to Central Arkansas a week ago. The Bison own impressive wins over Xavier, Yale and George Mason.</p>
<p>Bucknell will start a balanced lineup, led by a trio of seniors. Donald Brown paces Pat Flannery's squad with an 11.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg average, while shooting almost 62 percent from the field. Senior center Chris McNaughton, the preseason Player of the Year, contributes 9.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg. The last senior starter, Abe Badmus, adds 7.4 ppg and has dished out 46 assists in 13 games.</p>
<p>The biggest difference between last year's Bucknell team and this year's is in the defensive statistics. Bucknell allowed 50.6 ppg and .358 field goal percentage defense last year, but this year is allowing 62.2 ppg and .443 from the field. Offensively, Bucknell is scoring 62.2 ppg and shooting .450 from the field.</p>
<p>knell Connections</p>
<p>? Bucknell's Justin Castleberry and Navy's Derek Young attended the same high school, Archbishop Spalding (Md.). Castleberry is a sophomore, while Young is a freshman.
? Bucknell assistant coach Nathan Davis was an assistant coach at Navy from 1999-2003, helping guide Navy to a pair of Patriot League Tournament championship game appearances in 2000 and 2001.
? Davis and current Navy assistant coach Aaron Goodman both attended Walter Johnson High School (Md.). Davis graduated in 1992 and Goodman graduated in 1993.</p>
<p>riot League History</p>
<p>The Navy men's basketball team has been one of the most successful teams in the Patriot League and looks to move its way back up the league standings, starting Saturday. The Mids are picked to finish seventh in the league standings, but with 11 of the 15 players being either freshmen or sophomores, no one really knows what is in store for the Navy men's basketball team.</p>
<p>Navy has won or shared five regular season championships (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000) and has claimed three tournament championships (1994, 1997 and 1998). No team since the league was formed in 1991 has won more championships (both regular season and tournament) combined than Navy's eight. Holy Cross has also won eight titles (four reg. season, four tournament).</p>
<p>T Leftovers</p>
<p>Navy overcame another poor shooting night with stifling defense for a 52-50 overtime victory at NJIT on Tuesday night.
? Navy won its fifth non-conference regular-season game away from Annapolis, ending its non-conference away / neutral record at 5-3. The five wins are the most since David Robinson's junior year (1985-86). That team won six non-conference regular-season games away from Annapolis.
? Navy held its opponent to 50 percent or less from the field for the 12th time in 15 games, and 40 percent or less for the eighth time.
? The Mids have now been outrebounded by five or more caroms in seven of 15 games. 8 NJIT had just three steals against Navy, the fewest of the year and the least since Dec. 11, 2004 (Stony Brook - 3). 8 With just 10 free throw attempts against the Highlanders, Navy has now shot 10 or fewer free throws in five games this year.</p>
<p>ensive Excellence</p>
<p>The Mids have stayed in games, mostly due to outstanding defense. ? On Dec. 17 and Dec. 20, Navy allowed 40 (10th fewest in school history) points against Delaware Valley College and 37 (6th fewest in school history) points against Washington (Md.) in back-to-back games. It marked the first time since the 1948-49 season that Navy allowed 40 or fewer points in back-to-back games.
? Over the last nine games, Navy has allowed just three teams to reach 70 points (Penn - 79, Howard - 75 and Yale - 74). Howard, however, needed two overtimes to reach the 70-point plateau, scoring just 57 points in regulation.
? If looking at just regulation totals, Navy is allowing just 56.6 ppg over the last nine games.
? Over the last nine games, foes are shooting 178-of-454 (.392) from the field, and just 45-of-153 (.294) from long distance.
? Over the last nine games, just one team (Yale - .522) has shot over 50 percent and five of the teams shot .400 or lower.
? Lastly, the Navy defense has forced an average of 19.0 turnovers per game over the last nine games, resulting in 153 Navy points.</p>
<p>Non-League Wins</p>
<p>Navy's 10-5 non-conference record is the program's best non-conference mark since the 1999-2000 team posted a 11-4 record. Its 10 non-conference wins this year are the fifth most for a team since Navy joined a conference in 1986 (CAA). The totals exclude postseason tournaments.</p>
<p>on-League Wins Away From Home</p>
<p>Navy's 5-3 non-conference record away from Annapolis is one of the program's best all-time. The Mids' five wins in non-conference play (excluding postseason tournaments) are the second most in school history, behind the 1985-86 team that won six road / neutral games in the regular-season.</p>
<p>** The Game Into Overtime**</p>
<p>When the game goes into overtime, that is when it appears the Mids shine. Navy is now 3-0 in extra time after last Tuesday's 52-50 win at NJIT. The Mids have won four straight games when playing overtime, three of the wins comoing on the road.</p>
<p>Navy clashes with establishment</p>
<p>Published in today's Annapolis Capital:</p>
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Navy's performance in the non-conference portion of its men's basketball schedule would have to be considered positive as compared to recent seasons. Navy compiled a 10-5 record with three of the losses coming to Big East Conference foes St. John's, Villanova and Georgetown. The Midshipmen have already equaled their victory total from 2004-2005 and 2005-2006....
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<p>For: Immediate Release
Sent: January 6, 2007
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775</p>
<p>LEWISBURG, Pa.?Donald Brown scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Bucknell (7-7, 1-0 in the Patriot League) to a 59-51 victory over Navy (10-6, 0-1) in front of 3,907 fans at Sojka Pavilion. The win was Bucknell?s 22nd in a row over Patriot League foes and the 27th straight over Patriot League opponents at home. Navy had lost the previous four games at Sojka by an average margin of 26 points.</p>
<p>?I?m proud of our effort tonight,? said Navy head coach Billy Lange. ?I thought we made progress, but we still have a lot of work to do.?</p>
<p>The Mids were in the game from start to finish despite shooting just 42 percent (18-43) from the floor, including an 8-24 (.333) effort from behind the three-point line. Navy got to the free throw just 12 times, compared to 27 for Bucknell. Bucknell outscored Navy 30-8 in the paint.</p>
<p>Navy led by as many as five points in the first half at 21-16 on a lay-up by Adam Teague, but Justin Castleberry scored the last five points of the half to give Bucknell a four point lead at 28-24 at the intermission.</p>
<p>The Mids cut Bucknell?s lead to one at 30-29 early in the second half on a three-pointer by Adam Teague, but the Bison would reel off the next seven points to take a 37-29 lead with 15:48 left.</p>
<p>Bucknell?s lead stayed between six and nine points the rest of the game, though Navy had several chances to tighten up the contest. </p>
<p>Navy?s best chance came after Trey Stanton hit a three-pointer to cut Bucknell?s lead to six at 46-40 with 8:47 left. Chris McNaughton missed a jumper on Bucknell?s ensuing possession and Donald Brown fouled Stanton on the miss. </p>
<p>Stanton would miss the front end of the one-and-one free throw, but Kaleo Kina rebounded the miss and got it to Corey Johnson, who was fouled by Castleberry. Johnson followed with a miss of his own at the charity stripe. </p>
<p>After a turnover by McNaughton, Sprink missed a wide open three-pointer and then Bucknell?s John Griffin buried a 35-footer at the shot clock buzzer on the Bison?s next possession to give Bucknell a nine point lead with 6:13 left and the Mids could get no closer than six points the rest of the contest.</p>
<p>Sprink led Navy with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Adam Teague added eight points, while Trey Stanton and Kaleo Kina chipped in seven. Navy outrebounded the Bison, 29-28</p>
<p>Navy will be back in action on Wednesday night when they play host to Lehigh in a 7 p.m. contest at Alumni Hall.</p>