BALTIMORE – Navy's defense throttled UMBC and the Midshipmen shot better than 57 percent from the floor, as they defeated the Retrievers, 75-54, at the RAC Arena.

UMBC freshman Joe Sherburne (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.) led the Retrievers with 14 points, scoring in double figures for the fifth time in six games this season. Plagued by foul trouble, red-shirt sophomore guard Rodney Elliott (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) added 11 points

Navy solved UMBC's changing defenses in the first half, hitting 14 of their first 21 attempts from the floor. The Mids took control and extended an early 6-4 advantage to 15-4 at the 12:51 mark of the first half. The visitors would build the advantage to as many as 15 points at 32-17 with 4:59 to play in the stanza and settled for a 36-24 halftime advantage.

In the first 20 minutes, UMBC misfired on 9-of-10 attempts from behind the arc and the Mids' defense swarmed senior post Cody Joyce (Churchton, Md./Southern), who hit only one field goal and did not get to the line in the first 20 minutes. Moreover, Elliott was held without a field goal and was limited to just 12 minutes played with three fouls.

Navy opened the second half on a 12-3 run and coasted to the 21-point victory.

Senior guard Kendall Knorr scored a career-best 18 points to lead all scorers.

Navy (3-2) hit 28-of-49 shots from the floor (57.1 percent) and 7-of-13 from behind the arc. The Retrievers missed all nine 3-point attempts in the second half and shot 14-of-41 overall (34.1 percent). UMBC did convert 25-of-30 free throw attempts, as Elliott buried all seven and Sherburne converted 6-of-7.

UMBC (1-5) returns to the RAC Arena on Saturday when they host Colgate at 1:00 p.m.