Getting eliminated from contention for the NCAA Tournament by a buzzer-beating, 42-foot bank shot at the end of triple overtime can take some of the life out of you.

As the stunned Navy Midshipmen exchanged high-fives with fans Wednesday night at Alumni Hall, moments after Bucknell guard John Griffin crushed the Mids by turning a two-point Navy win into an 87-86 Bison victory in the first round of Patriot League tournament, Navy was the staggering picture of physical and emotional exhaustion.

But even after absorbing a double-blow — first by losing to Colgate on Saturday and missing a chance to secure a berth in the National Invitational Tournament with a regular season conference title, then by squandering a 17-point, second-half lead to Bucknell — the Mids found some peace.

Through all of the pain that will linger with everyone from fourth-year coach Billy Lange to departing seniors such as star guard Greg Sprink, the Mids know they accomplished one mission this season.

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College basketball is something to be excited about again in Annapolis.

The credit first goes to Lange, the high-energy, 36-year-old from South Jersey who assembled the talent to play his up-tempo, four-guard, spread style designed to produce lots of turnovers and a ton of three-point shots.

Lange, who cut his coaching teeth as an assistant at La Salle and Villanova and as a successful head coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, was hired in 2004 to resuscitate a Navy program that had produced 23 victories the previous three seasons combined.

The Mids took gradual steps forward in Lange’s first three years, and finished 14-16 last year, including a 4-10 record in the Patriot League. And they had become competitive again in the majority of league contests.

Then, after being picked to finish seventh in the conference in the preseason, Navy started to click for good after stumbling to a 3-8 start. By the time it reached the league tournament as the No. 2 seed, Navy boasted the conference’s Coach of the Year and Player of the Year in Sprink. It also had recorded 16 wins, its most victories in seven seasons.

“We couldn’t even talk about winning the first year,” Sprink said. “We just talked about playing hard, playing tough, playing together, playing for Navy.”

“We emphasized the foundation,” Lange, recalling the early years, said. “You’re just trying to get an image of what Navy basketball should represent. You have to adjust to what you do with the personnel you have. We have very good players, but we’re not going to beat anybody in our league on talent alone.”

So Lange built this year’s squad around three-point specialists such as sophomore Chris Harris, who has been ranked all year among the nation’s top 50 shooters from beyond the arc. And he leaned heavily on Sprink, a 6-feet-5 matchup problem with the ability to post up opponents, drive to the basket after the offense helped clear space for him to go one-on-one, or spot up on the perimeter for jumpers.

Sprink carried Navy to a 34-24 halftime lead on Wednesday with a 24-point masterpiece, befitting a guy who led the Patriot League with a 21.2-point scoring average.

But he could not sustain his offense, and the Mids followed suit by fading badly down the stretch in regulation.

Then, after playing nearly 19 minutes with four fouls, Sprink fouled out in the final seconds of double-overtime, just after scoring his career-high, 37th point. That left him to watch the shocking end to his career on the bench.

“It’s been a tremendous journey,” he said. “I believe we’ve turned this program around. Now we have a chance to go to the NCAAs.”

Navy has not gone to the sport’s main event since 1998. Even as they come to grips with Wednesday’s cruel, season-ending moment, they look like a program that won’t be waiting much longer to return.

Gary Lambrecht writes about the NFL, Major League Baseball and college sports. He can be reached at glambrecht@baltimoreexaminer.com.