Men’s Basketball: Kamali Chambers’s Passion Not Enough in Loss to Navy

By: Greg Levinsky

BOSTON — From 2:03 remaining in the first half until 15:53 to go in the second half, Boston University men’s basketball junior Kamali Chambers was the most valuable player on the floor for the Terriers.

He entered the game with the Terriers (12-15, 8-8 Patriot League) trailing the Navy Mids (19-10, 10-6), 30-19. Chambers assisted on a 3-pointer by Will Goff, helping the Terriers on a 14-2 swing spanning the end of the first half into the beginning of the second. He ended his spurt by hitting contested right corner 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 33-32 lead with 17:28 left in the second half.

“I thought Kamali Chambers was the only guy from start to finish, when he was in, to play with a lot of heart and desire, and kind of change the makeup of the game,” Boston University Head Coach Joe Jones said.

Unfortunately for the Terriers, Chambers was the only player who Jones thought gave a commendable effort in BU’s fifth straight loss. Chambers finished the contest with six points, one assist and added a steal in 14 minutes off the bench in the Terriers 62-48 loss to Navy on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym.

“Outside of [him], I didn’t really see anybody consistently competing the way you were going to have to compete to grind out that kind of win,” Jones said.

The Mids entered extended their record to 13-0 when leading at halftime. Chambers started the second half after providing a couple of strong minutes to close the first half. Senior Eric Johnson was sent to the bench after committing two first half turnovers.

Chambers came out of the game with just under 16 minutes left as Johnson and freshman Javante McCoy, who scored eight points, got some time on the court. Chambers returned to the lineup with the Terriers trailing 54-43 with 7:54 left, and added a bucket on a strong right-handed drive before the final buzzer.

“I though from the time [Kamali] went in the game, [he] gave everything he had,” Jones said. “I don’t know if we got that from everyone. I think at sometimes guys were playing hard, but not to the level he was playing at.”

The 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 1.8 points in 9.0 minutes per game. Chambers also saw increased minutes as freshman starting guard Walter Whyte missed his fourth straight game due to injury. Jones said Whyte is day-to-day and hopes he can return before the end of the season.

“He’s still out, he’s still limping,” Jones said of Whyte. “We don’t quite know. We’re hoping that he can get back, but we’re not sure.”