Seniors Loupos and Wynn step up for Navy men’s basketball team

“We challenged our two seniors to step up. This is their last go-round in conference play and it’s now or never,” Navy head coach Ed DeChellis said after the game.

Navy is loaded with sophomores and could really use the on-court leadership of its only two players with four years of varsity experience. DeChellis can only hope that Loupos and Wynn can continue to perform the way they did in the Patriot League opener when Navy hosts Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

“I thought Loup and T-good were both tremendous the other night. They showed the younger guys how hard you have to play, how hard you have to compete,” DeChellis said. “It was good for our younger guys to see the level of competitive spirit you need in these league games. Those two seniors will get another opportunity on Sunday and hopefully they’ll show the same energy and passion.”

Loupos drew four charging fouls and showed serious emotion after each, firing up the other Midshipmen. Wynn came out of nowhere and leaped high to snare an offensive rebound in overtime to give the team another shot attempt.

During the film review, DeChellis highlighted both hustle plays and asked other players “when was the last time you took a charge?” or “how hard do you work to get offensive boards?”

“Coach told me and Thurgood that we’re seniors and he needed more out of us. I know I definitely took that to heart,” Loupos said. “We’ve been through every scenario during our careers and we need to show the younger guys how hard you have to play, how hard you have to work.”

Loupos was quite animated throughout Thursday night’s games, constantly exhorting teammates to dig deep and make plays. The 6-foot-6, 206-pounder gave great effort and wound up sprawled on the court repeatedly during the night.

“I take a lot of pride in doing the little things that don’t show up in the boxscore, like taking charges and diving on the floor for loose balls,” he said.

Loupos played 17 minutes in the season opener at Towson, but did not log more than seven in the next nine games and was a healthy scratch against UMBC on Monday. Wynn did not play in four of five games prior to the Patriot League opener and also had not seen more than seven minutes in any contest. Neither player had scored more than two points in a game this season so the fact they combined for 22 versus Loyola was a welcome surprise.

“The truth is that they had not been practicing well. They just were not getting much done,” DeChellis said. “They have both stepped up in every area since coming back from Christmas break. I think it was a case of realizing that ‘I’ve got 18 conference games and then maybe my career is over.’ Those guys know the end is near.”

Navy returns home for the first time Since Dec. 4 looking to snap a four-game losing streak. The Midshipmen led at halftime of each of those contests and could not come away victorious.

“We have to find a way to start winning these close games. We play well for long stretches then have lapses that cost us. We need to put together a complete game,” Loupos said.