Navy is proving to be a real nemesis for the Loyola Maryland men's basketball team.

The Greyhounds came to Annapolis riding a four-game winning streak that was their longest since joining the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season. That hot stretch came to a crashing halt against the Midshipmen, who have dominated the series of late.

Senior center Edward Alade scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds as Navy built a big lead then held off a late rally to beat Loyola, 62-59, before an announced 1,435 at Alumni Hall. Senior wing Tim Abruzzo came off the bench to also score 12 points for the Mids, who swept the home-and-home series between the schools for the third straight season.

“Navy's had our number the last three years. They've beaten us six times in a row, so you have to give them credit,” Greyhounds coach G.G. Smith said.

Smith believes overall size and playing style are the reasons the Mids give Loyola trouble.

“I just think they match up well against us. They're bigger than us, they're tough, they're strong and they're physical. We just don't like that. We don't like being bothered like that. We don't like a lot of contact.”

Junior guard Bryce Dulin totaled 11 points and nine rebounds for Navy (14-11, 9-4), which maintained its hold on second place in the Patriot League. Sophomore point guard Hasan Abdullah chipped in 10 points for the Mids, who got back into the win column quickly after their eight-game winning streak ended Saturday at Colgate.

“I knew it was going to be really hard tonight. We didn't practice exceptionally well yesterday and they were playing on an uptick,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “We got stung on Saturday afternoon and were a little down. I told the team to not let Colgate beat us twice.”

Senior forward Jarred Jones (John Carroll) scored 20 points to lead Loyola (13-11, 7-6), which fell to fifth place in the conference. Junior forward Cam Gregory added 15 points for the Greyhounds, who cut a 17-point deficit to two on two occasions in the final minute but could not come all the way back.

Junior point guard Andre Walker added 12 points and five assists for the visitors, who again made a living at the free-throw line by making 24 of 28. The Greyhounds came into the game leading the Patriot League in free throws made (15.8) and attempted (22.9) per game.

Nourse Fox scored off a steal and layup to cap an 8-1 run that gave Navy its largest lead, 47-30, at the 12:01 mark of the second half. However, Jones scored nine points to lead a 17-6 run that pulled Loyola back within 57-53 with 2:31 remaining.

“I was proud of our guys that they didn't quit. They kept battling. We've done this a couple times before and been victorious, but this late in the season against a good team like Navy you can't fall behind by that much,” Smith said.

The Mids made just one field goal over the final 9:41 and hurt themselves by missing five of six free throws over the span of four possessions down the stretch. The Greyhounds took advantage with Walker hitting a tough shot in the lane while absorbing a foul and making the subsequent free throw to make it 59-57 with 37.7 seconds left.

“I thought we played hard tonight, but we didn't execute real well. We turned the ball over too much and didn't make free throws when we had to,” DeChellis said. “We didn't score down the stretch. All of a sudden we got tight with the ball. They were trapping all over the place and that gave us some trouble.”

Abdullah made one of two free throws to give Navy a three-point lead, 62-59, with 21 seconds to go. Loyola had a chance to tie on the game's final possession but missed three 3-point attempts.

Walker was short on a step-back three with 11 seconds left, but Loyola won a mad scramble on the floor for the rebound. Walker missed another 3-pointer coming out of a timeout, but freshman guard Chuck Champion grabbed the rebound, dribbled out past the arc and hoisted a 3 that bounced high off the back rim.

“We talked about fouling so as not to give the 3, but Bryce got his hands up and made Walker take a tough shot over him,” DeChellis said. “I thought our kids did a good job defensively on that last possession. They made the play when it needed to be made and I'm proud of them.”

Jones fouled out with 3:05 remaining, and that didn't help Loyola's comeback bid.

“It hurt us a little bit because Jarred is our veteran player out there. He's a smart player and is one of our better defenders,” Smith said. “It also takes another scorer off the floor, which puts us in a bind.”

Alade scored 10 points on a variety of inside moves as Navy took a 29-21 lead into halftime. Abruzzo and Abdullah contributed eight and seven points for the Mids, who shot 52 percent from the field.

Jones had eight points for Loyola, which shot just 35 percent (7-for-20) from the field and committed nine turnovers.

The Greyhounds gave up 12 second-chance points while the Mids scored an additional 10 off turnovers.

“Navy just destroyed us on the boards. They had 15 offensive rebounds and that just can't happen. We did a poor job of blocking out,” Smith said.

Lacey converted an old-fashioned three-point play to start the second-half scoring and increase the Navy lead to 11. The Midshipmen were able to maintain a double-digit advantage until there was 4:47 remaining in the game.

“I thought we defended and didn't turn the ball over during that stretch, and we made some shots,” DeChellis said. “Everyone sort of pitched in. We were active and got some steals, which was good to see. Overall, I thought we did a good job defensively. We built that 17-point lead off our defense.”

Navy equaled the number of conference victories it earned last season and is two short of securing the most since 2000, when it went 11-1.

“I'm proud of our kids. We've got nine wins with five to play,” DeChellis said. “This is a great time of the year to play. I like our team, like our players. They've got a good fiber to them, some toughness to them.”