Navy guard Jordan Pennick was ejected less than two minutes into the Patriot League title game night after appearing to punch American forward Greg Jones below the belt on Wednesday. The play resulted in a flagrant 2 foul on Pennick, who was escorted off the court amid jeers from the American fans.
The exchange came after a bucket that put American ahead 5-0 at the 18:37 mark of the first half. As Navy inbounded the basketball, Jones and Pennick were running down the court next to each other. As Pennick attempted to relocate to the other side of the floor, he threw an underhanded fist toward Jones’ groin.
An official immediately blew the play dead, and it went under review. Pennick, a sophomore, entered as Navy’s second-leading scorer at 11 points per game. The No. 5 seed Midshipmen were playing for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 and had been getting substantive contributions from Pennick entering the game.
He averaged 17.6 points on 48.4% 3-point shooting over Navy’s five-game winning streak entering Wednesday. Jones fell to the floor and appeared to be writhing in pain after he was struck, but he quickly returned for American as the Eagles sought their first appearance in the Big Dance since 2014.
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