They say it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, and that old adage proved true when it came to the Bucknell-Navy men’s basketball series.

Junior point guard Austin Benigni scored almost all of his 24 points from the free-throw line as No. 5 Navy upset top-seeded Bucknell, 83-77, in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Sunday at Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Benigni only made 2 of 12 field goals but swished 20 of 22 foul shots with most of those coming down the stretch.

Sophomore point guard Jordan Pennick (Spalding) scored 15 points for Navy (15-18), which advanced to the championship game for just the second time since 2001. Sophomore guard Jinwoo Kim scored 13 points for the Midshipmen, who have won seven of their past eight games.

“I’m really, really proud of our team. We showed a lot of grit, a lot of mental and physical toughness,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “Our players fought really hard and showed great resilience. We live to fight another day.”

Navy will play at second-seeded American Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the Patriot League Tournament final for an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Midshipmen are seeking their first conference championship since 1998.