Benigni, Kehoe lead Navy men’s basketball in 81-63 loss to Army in Star game
Navy men’s basketball continues to check its boxes.
After capturing their first Patriot League regular season championship since 1997 earlier in the week, the Midshipmen accomplished another big goal on Saturday at Christl Arena in West Point, New York.
Senior point guard Austin Benigni exploded for 27 points and made all 12 of his free throw attempts as Navy defeated archrival Army, 81-63. Senior center Aidan Kehoe had his fifth straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Mids, who took a double-digit lead midway through the first half and held it the rest of the way.
Junior guard Jinwoo Kim had a solid all-around game with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Navy (23-6, 15-1), which had five players reach double figures. Senior forward Donovan Draper totaled 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, while junior guard Cam Cole also came off the bench to score 10 points.
Navy has now won the Star game in five of the last six seasons. Navy’s basketball sweep on Saturday also earned a win in the Star Series.
“It was great to make a clean sweep and get two Stars and help the athletic department win this series,” Navy coach Jon Perry said. “It was a great day for Navy men’s and women’s basketball.”
Junior point guard Ryan Curry made a three-pointer on the game’s opening possession, but that marked the last time Army led. Navy led 43-27 at halftime with the defense setting the tone. The Black Knights made just 9 of 26 field goals and were 3 of 16 from 3-point range in the first half.
“As a team, we had two really good days of preparation, so the guys were focused and locked in,” Perry said. “I thought we did a good job defensively to start the game. We also did a good job rebounding and taking care of the ball in the first half.”
Sophomore guard Jason Bell scored 17 points to lead Army (11-18, 5-11), which cut the deficit to single digits on several occasions in the first six minutes of the second half. Benigni hit a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run that gave Navy a 17-point lead.
The Mids led by as many as 20 points midway through the fourth quarter and were never threatened again.
Curry, Army’s leading scorer, was limited to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting. The Black Knights ended up shooting 37.7% from the field and 29.4% on three-pointers for the game.
“There were five guys committed to taking care of the ball. Army did some good things — a lot of five guys out and that makes you rotate. We started changing some things, and it took five guys working together,” Perry said. “I think it takes the edge off a team when you have a team that is committed to defending for 40 minutes.”
Benigni further enhanced his resume for Patriot League Player of the Year honors with his performance. He leads the conference in 3-point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage, while ranking second in scoring (18.5 points per game) and fourth in assists (4.3).
“Austin really calmed us down on offense and had the ball where it needed to be. It makes life easier when you have a guy like that out there running your team,” said Perry, who criticized Benigni for not getting a single rebound against Army.
Kehoe is arguably Benigni’s top challenger for Patriot League Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s coaches. The 6-foot-11, 246-pound Pivot leads the nation in shooting percentage and the league in rebounding. He averaged a double-double with 15.5 points and 10.8 rebounds.
Kehoe recorded his 16th double-double of the season on Saturday with five of his 11 rebounds coming on the offensive end.
“Aidan continues to get the job done on both ends of the floor,” Perry said. “Today, I thought he worked really hard on offense. Because sometimes it takes two people to block him, it allows other people to get offensive rebounds.”
Navy has two regular season games left — at Loyola Maryland on Wednesday and at home against Colgate on Saturday. Navy could become the second school to post a 17-1 conference record — joining Colgate, which accomplished the feat in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Midshipmen have now recorded the most overall wins (23) since the 1999-2000 season. Navy’s winningest seasons in men’s basketball came during the David Robinson era with records of 30-5 in 1985-86 and 26-6 in 1986-87.
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