The AU men’s basketball team kept its perfect record in Bender Arena after defeating the Navy Midshipmen 69-47 Feb. 15 thanks to a season-best defensive effort.
The 47 points scored by the Midshipmen (3-22, 0-11 PL) was the lowest point total scored against AU all season, as the Eagles (17-9, 8-3 PL) improved to 11-0 at home.
AU jumped out to a quick start, opening the game on a 10-0 run and scoring on its first four possessions.
“I think it was big,” AU Head Coach Jeff Jones said. “We weren’t feeling good after Saturday’s game, but we were able to get off to a good start.”
Charles Hinkle was a big part of the Eagles’ early success, as he scored AU’s first six points and 11 of the first 19. The senior finished the first half with 16 points on 6-6 shooting from the field (4-4 from beyond the arc).
“Me shooting like that, I think it boosts up the team and boosts up the confidence,” said Hinkle, who posted a game-high 18 points. “I didn’t want us to be stagnant on offense, so I thought that was good.”
Tony Wroblicky had an impressive start as well for AU, tallying seven points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes of first-half action. Wroblicky finished with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, his second-career double-double.
“When you get a double-double [from Tony], it’s icing on the cake,” Jones said. “It’s a plus.”
Strong defense helped the Eagles early in the contest, as they opened up a 19-5 lead midway through the first half.
At halftime, AU held a commanding 36-12 lead, as Navy shot just 5-23 from the field, and 1-8 from 3-point range.
Navy ended up outscoring AU in the second half 35-33, but the game was never competitive thanks to the large lead the Eagles had built in the opening 20 minutes.
The Midshipmen never trailed by less than 20 points in the second half, and AU’s largest lead came with 13:48 remaining in the game, when Blake Jolivette’s three-point play made it 48-17 AU.
Jolivette’s layup eight minutes later again put the Eagles up by 30 at 62-32, as they coasted to the 22-point victory.
With the win, AU moves into sole possession of second place in the Patriot League. Lehigh University will try to move into a tie for second place Feb. 16, when they travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to take on Bucknell University. The Bison lead the PL with a 10-0 mark in conference play.
“[Second place] is very important,” said Troy Brewer, who registered six points. “You want to host and, when it comes to the playoffs, have a home crowd. It’s harder to win on the road than it is here, so that’s important to us.”
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