ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Norfolk State went 12-of-16 from the field in the second half and rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to hand the Navy men's basketball team a 71-65 setback in the Mids' non-conference finale on New Year's Day at Alumni Hall.

Navy concluded non-Patriot League play with a 3-11 mark, while Norfolk State, which owns wins over Drexel and TCU as well as a two-point loss to nationally-ranked Marquette, improved to 10-5.

Navy played perhaps its best half of basketball in the first half, jumping out to a 36-30 halftime lead while shooting 62.5 percent from the field and limiting the Spartans to just 38.7 percent. However, Norfolk State turned the tables in the second half, connecting on 75.0 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, missing just four times on 16 field goal attempts.

In the second half against Mercer on Friday, the visiting Bears shot 15-of-21 (.714) from the field. The two teams combined (Norfolk State and Mercer) shot a sizzling 27-of-37 (.730) from the field in the final 20 minutes.

"It's the same thing that happened against Mercer in the second half. We couldn't stop them or guard them. In saying that, we still had a chance to do something late. We just took two really tough shots at tough times," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. "We fought and competed and played hard, but we just didn't guard anyone in the second half."

Despite the hot shooting, Navy still led by three at 48-45 with 13:43 to play, when the Spartans used a 10-3 run to take a 55-51 lead on a four-point possession with 9:31 to play. Navy would cut the lead to one several times, the last occurrence coming with 1:53 to play on a Jordan Brickman (Jr. / San Antonio, Texas) jumper with 1:53 to play.

Trailing by two at 66-64 with 30 seconds left, senior Ted Connolly (Wexford, Pa.) missed a three-pointer that NSU rebounded and made one subsequent free throw for a 67-64 lead. Thurgood Wynn (So. / Bethesda, Md.) would make one free throw on Navy's next possession to cut the margin to 67-65 with 10 seconds left, but Chris McEachin made two free throws with nine seconds left and then Jamel Fuentes stole the Navy inbounds pass and made two more free throws for the final six-point margin.

Navy jumped out to a 10-4 early lead, but Norfolk State responded with a 17-6 spurt, mostly thanks to seven Navy turnovers in an eight-minute span, for a 21-16 advantage with 7:18 to play in the first half.

Navy answered right back with a 20-6 spurt of its own to take a nine-point lead at 36-27 with 1:08 to play. The Midshipmen had a chance late in the half to push the lead to 11 by holding for essentially the last shot, but a J.J. Avila (So. / McAllen, Texas) lay-up attempt with six seconds left on the shot clock and nine on the game clock, rolled off the rim and Fuentes took the ball for length of the court for a conventional three-point play for a big five-point swing right before half, cutting the Navy lead to 36-30.

Navy ended up shooting 25-of-52 (.481) for the contest, including 8-of-24 (.333) from the three-point line, missing its last seven three-point attempts down the stretch. Navy was also just 7-of-12 (.583) from the free throw line, committed 12 turnovers and were outrebounded, 29-28.

The Spartans shot 24-of-47 (.511) from the field, 6-of-14 (.429) from three-point range and 17-of-22 (.773) from the free throw line. Norfolk State was guilty of 10 turnovers.

Avila paced Navy with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while freshman Worth Smith (Mooresville, N.C.) added a career-high 13 points with two rebounds and an assist on 5-of-6 shooting. Sugars added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Navy also got strong contribution from Connolly off the bench, playing a career-high 24 minutes with two points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals against no turnovers.

"We wanted some toughness and energy tonight, and Teddy can bring that," said DeChellis. "When you lose some games, you try to shake some things up and see what some guys can do. I thought he did some good things and played pretty good defense throughout the game."

Pendarvis Williams scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, while preseason MEAC Player of the Year Kyle O'Quinn, a 6-10, 240-pound center, added 17 points and 11 rebounds.