Jan. 2, 2008

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Junior guard Kaleo Kina scored 23 points for Navy in its 84-55 men's basketball win over visiting NJIT Wednesday night, as the Midshipmen overcame Highlander junior Nesho Milosevic's 25 points and 10 rebounds..

Milosevic was the top scorer and the top rebounder in the game. He shot 9-for-11 from the field and 7-for-11 at the foul line en route to the highest scoring total by a Highlander this season.

The 25 points for Milosevic were two shy of the NJIT Division I record 27, set by Clayton Barker on February 8, 2007 against South Dakota State, when the Highlanders were in their first season of Division I competition.

Milosevic shared the NJIT steals lead with two, along with freshmen Tyler Epps and Justin Garris. Epps also established a personal assists high with a game-best five against Navy.

Navy had a balanced offense, as Kina was one of four Navy starters to reach double figures. The Midshipmen continued a high-octane run that saw them score 85 points in each of the two games immediately preceding Wednesday's night win over the Highlanders.

Navy's season-leading scorer Greg Sprink was limited to 23 minutes of play due to foul trouble, but he matched his season average with 19 points. Chris Harris scored 18 points, shooting 5-for-6 from three-point range, which paced Navy's 11-for-23 three-point shooting as a team. Romeo Garcia finished with 10 points for the Midshipmen.

NJIT's Milosevic was especially impressive in the first half when he accounted for 19 of his teams 31 points, making seven of eight first-half field goal attempts and five of seven free throws. He also had six rebounds in the opening half.

Navy held a 45-31 halftime lead, paced by Kina's 13 points and 12 from Sprink. The Midshipmen made seven of 12 three-point tries in the first half, as Kina, Sprink and Harris all made two treys apiece. Kina and Harris were both 2-for-2.

Milosevic got three more field goal attempts (made two) in the game and NJIT's offense dropped from 31 points in the first half to 24 in the second half.

Navy scored the game's first five points and never trailed, but the Highlanders closed to 10-8 on Kraig Peters' basket with 15:35 left in the first half. It was his only first-half basket and one of two in the game for Peters, who played only 11 minutes before fouling out.

Not having Peters on the floor likely hurt the Highlanders. The senior captain had been stellar in recent games, posting a double-double (career-high 21 points, 11 rebounds) vs. Rutgers on December 13 and then making the all-tournament team at the UCF Holiday Classic in Orlando on December 30 and 31. He had scored a game-high 19 points and became NJIT's 22nd 1,000-point career scorer in his previous game on December 31.

The Highlanders gradually slipped farther behind as the half wore on, as Navy showed a knack for answering NJIT's scores. After Peters' bucket made it 10-8, Kina responded just 16 seconds later.

A bit later, Milosevic scored to close NJIT back to within two, 14-12, at 13:37, but Harris stroked a three-pointer on the other end a mere six seconds later. ` A Kina three-pointer gave the Midshipmen their first double-figure lead, 28-17, with 8:42 remaining.

NJIT got as close to the lead as seven points and trailed by nine, 40-31, on Epps' three-pointer with 2:57 left in the first half, but Navy's Adam Teague scored the next five points, staking the Midshipmen to their 45-31 halftime advantage.

Peters scored on NJIT's first second-half possession to make the score 45-33, but the Highlanders did not get closer the rest of the way.

The Highlanders will return to action on Saturday at 7 pm, when they play in Philadelphia against Penn in the fabled Palestra. It will be the first all-time meeting between the programs.