In what has become a bit of a holiday season tradition in Annapolis, Navy men’s basketball dominated Division III Washington College from start to finish, cruising to a 91-33 victory on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
It was the fifth game between the Midshipmen and Shoremen since the 2017-18 season, and none have been competitive. Navy has won each contest by an average of 49 points.
The Mids put the game out of reach early as they raced out to a 24-6 lead less than nine minutes into the game. Navy was led by junior guards Kam Summers and Lysander Rehnstrom, who scored 13 points apiece.
As a team, the Midshipmen shot 53% from the field and outrebounded the Shoremen, 51-27.
Navy also had an impressive day handling the ball, dishing out 25 assists and committing just eight turnovers.
For Navy coach Ed DeChellis, scheduling Washington College during exam week is no coincidence.
“These games in the middle of finals are always sort of scary, but I think it was real good to get the younger players in the game,” he said. “It’s just very challenging getting these young guys to study, practice and try to focus.”
With the win, Navy improved its record to 3-6 and has two more nonconference contests remaining before it begins Patriot League play, including a Thursday road contest against a talented Youngstown State (8-3) squad.
“We had all we could handle with them last year, and we haven’t won on the road … that’s important to try to break that,” DeChellis said. “They will be an athletic group and an older team again.”
The Midshipmen lost four starters from last year’s team that finished 18-13 overall and 9-7 in the Patriot League. On the whole, DeChellis has been impressed with how his young team has progressed this season.
“I like the direction we are going in,” he said. “They work hard. It’s just all new…everything we do with this team is new.”
Speaking of new, one of the major contributors for the Mids so far this season has been sophomore forward Donovan Draper. If the name sounds unfamiliar to those who follow Navy basketball, it’s for good reason. The 6-foot-5 West Palm Beach, Florida, native spent his freshman year as a wide receiver with the Navy football team.
However, after spending his plebe campaign on the scout team, Draper felt drawn back to his other passion on the hardwood.
“I’ve loved basketball my whole life and I also loved football my whole life,” Draper said. “I really made the decision over Christmas break last year around this time. I just saw myself missing basketball more and more. I reached out [to the basketball staff] and they gave me a chance and I ended up taking it.”
DeChellis noted that Navy basketball recruited Draper out of Forest Hill High and that he played both sports at the Naval Academy Prep School.
“We knew about Drape. He wanted to pursue football so we kind of let it go,” DeChellis said. “Last spring, he came to us and we talked to the football [coaches] to make them aware of it. Drape just said he wanted to do something different.”
Draper, who made his second consecutive start Sunday, leads the team in rebounding with 8.4 per game and ranks second in scoring with 9.5 points per game. That average was bolstered by a 19-point effort in Navy’s overtime loss to George Washington on Dec. 5.
“It’s taken him some time to knock off the rust, but he is athletic, he is strong and he can rebound the ball,” DeChellis said. “He has a nose for the ball, and he’ll get better and better as the season goes on and we need him to.”
The road ahead gets more difficult for the Mids, especially when Patriot League play begins in the new year.
Navy was picked to finish in a tie for seventh place out of 10 teams and its first two conference opponents, Boston University and Colgate, will present enormous tests. DeChellis, however, believes Navy has a chance to compete.
“I don’t know if anyone is so much better than anyone else. There’s a lot of parity,” he said.
Navy at Youngstown State
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: 1430 AM
