Army remains unbeaten through day-five, stage is set for Championship Game

Army defeated Navy on Friday and handed the Marine Corps another defeat on Saturday to extend their unbeaten streak throughout the Tournament. Army is now locked in for the Championship set for Monday, November 7th.

Navy bounced back from Friday’s loss to Army and challenged the defending champion Air Force on Saturday.

With Air Force in the lead at halftime 31-26, Navy pulled out in front with five minutes to go into the game and never looked back. In order to position themselves in the championship hunt, Navy needed to defeat Air Force by seven points.

As time drew down at the end of regulation, Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Fitzgerald drew a critical foul in three-point land. Fitzgerald hit the mark on all three baskets with two-seconds left in the game and closed the gap to six points. Navy quickly advanced down the court, but failed to score.

Navy won the contest 70-64, but with both teams potentially tied, Air Force leads in the point differential category and will advance to the Championship game against Army.

Point differential between teams is used when teams are tied. Air Force beat Navy on Wednesday 79-72 and leads Navy by +1 in the differential.

Navy’s Lt Kanleo Kina broke out and lead the team with 18-points and three steals for the win.

Army will face Air Force and the Marines will face Navy on Sunday. This will be the same match-ups on Monday given the current standings of the tournament.

On Monday, Army will challenge Air Force for the championship, as Navy and Marine Corps will face each other in the consolation game.

The 2016 Armed Forces Championship format consists of double round robin play, where each team faces one another twice for seeding. The top two best records will face one another in the championship match to claim the 2016 Armed Forces crown.