College Basketball Roundup : Navy Wins Title, Berth in NCAA Tournament

Navy Coach Pete Herrmann was concerned only that the Midshipmen win the Colonial Athletic Assn. tournament Monday night, and not about the fashion in which they might do it.

“Sometimes you get a little lucky,” Herrmann said after Navy survived a late North Carolina Wilmington rally for a 53-50 win over the Seahawks at Hampton, Va.

Tournament most valuable player David Robinson put Navy ahead on a three-point play with 17:13 left, and the Midshipmen went on to win their third straight Colonial Athletic Assn. title.

Robinson, Navy’s 7-foot-1, 235-pound senior center, extended the Midshipmen’s lead to 51-48 when he hit a free throw 2:02 to play. He finished with 23 points and was the only Navy player in double figures.

Navy won its 13th straight game and improved its record to 26-5. The Midshipmen received an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina Wilmington is 18-12.

Providence 97, Villanova 80--Senior forward Dave Kipfer scored 17 of his season-high 20 points in the first half to lead the Friars to a Big East victory at Providence, R.I.

Providence finished the regular season at 20-7 and will face St. John’s in the first round of the Big East tournament. The Friars were 10-6 in the Big East.

Villanova fell to 15-14, 6-10 overall.

Notre Dame 76, Brooklyn 57--Donald Royal scored 20 points, including 8 for 9 from the free-throw line, to lead the No. 20 Irish to victory in an intersectional game at South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame is 20-7; Brooklyn College is 10-17.

Fresno State 47, UC Santa Barbara 46--Guard Mike Mitchell hit two free throws with 33 seconds left to help the Bulldogs win a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at Fresno.