Navy Holds Off Men's Basketball in PL Opener, 82-77

Wednesday, December 31

Annapolis, Md.

1 PM

Boston University

5-9,0-1Patriot

Navy

9-5,1-0Patriot

Boston U.

Navy

Chance Gladden dribbles the ball up the court with a Northern Kentucky defender in front.

Navy Holds Off Men's Basketball in PL Opener, 82-77

December 31, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Coach Jones Postgame

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In a matchup of the top two Patriot League men's basketball preseason poll squads, favorite Navy held off Boston University men's basketball team, 82-77, in the conference opener Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

The Midshipmen (9-5, 1-0 PL) won their fifth straight contest with a 22-10 advantage in made free throws and 10-9 edge in 3-pointers against the Terriers (5-9, 0-1 PL). Both teams shot between 47-50 percent from the field and had three players finish the contest scoring in double figures.

Freshman Chance Gladden led BU with a personal-best 26 points, and junior Michael McNair totaled 13 points and team-high six rebounds. Plagued by foul trouble, sophomore Ben Defty still was able to score 12 points, while freshmen Sam Hughes and Donte Tisinger Jr. recorded nine points apiece.

Never leaving the court, PL Preseason Player of the Year Austin Benigni tallied a game-high 27 points and came up just two assists shy of a double-double. Aidan Kehoe helped Navy out-rebound BU, 37-28, with 15 boards and added 15 points alongside two blocks. Jordan Pennick went 8-for-11 at the charity stripe en route to 18 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first half featured six lead changes and two ties with Navy starting 1-for-7 from behind the arc and then later entering the locker room 7-for-15 for a 35-30 lead.
After Cam Cole hit his first trey for an 8-2 lead at 14:16 and followed with a short jumper a minute later for 10-4 lead, the Terriers responded with an 11-3 run over the following two minutes that included Hughes hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
The teams exchanged 3-pointers with Abdullah giving BU an 18-16 lead at 9:33.
Abdullah added two free throws at 8:22 to break to push the Terriers ahead, 20-19.
Benigni though responded with 3-pointers at 6:13 and 5:38 to give Navy the lead for good.
Facing a 31-24 deficit with 2:20 left in the half, McNair nailed his lone 3-pointer and Gladden added another at 58 seconds to pull within one.
Benigni though hit a layup, earned a block and added two free throws for a 35-30 halftime lead.
Defty started the second half with a dunk and layup, but BU was unable to retake the lead.
After Navy extended its lead to 69-54 at 4:13, the Terriers chipped away and pulled within six (77-71) at 39 seconds on Gladden's jumper.
The Mids used five free throws to seal victory.

GAME NOTES

Gladden went 10-for-18 from the field to reach 20+ points for the third time this season and finished just two points shy of matching McNair's 28 tallied at Penn State for the season best.
Besides flushing at least three 3-pointers for the eighth time, Hughes finished with a season-high six rebounds after combining for seven over the previous three games. He previously opened the season with five boards at Northeastern.
BU ended the contest shooting 29-for-59 (.492) against a Navy squad that was holding opponents to 41.0 FG%, while the Mids went 25-for-53 (.472).
Kehoe's 15 rebounds marked the most against the Terriers this season after UNH's Belal El Shakery totaled 14 during the overtime matchup back on Dec. 6.
The Mids recorded just five total fouls through the first 35 minutes of action before being called with seven more during the final five minutes.
Navy earned its sixth straight win at Alumni Hall against the Terriers.

UP NEXT

BU will host defending PL champion American on Saturday (Jan. 3) with a 1 p.m. tip.
The home team won both times last season with BU first earning a 60-54 victory and the Eagles pulling out a 48-44 decision in the rematch.
The Terriers are riding a five-game home win streak after AU left Case Gym with 70-66 win back in 2019.