March 5, 2008
WASHINGTON - This was no typical 1-8 matchup in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals. The American University men's basketball team, which earned the first seed in the PL tourney by way of winning the regular season league title, took on its old arch-rival, Holy Cross, which AU hadn't beaten on its home court since 2004. The Eagles, however, overcame both a six-point halftime deficit and their old nemesis, the Crusaders, with clutch plays down the stretch for a 62-60 win Wednesday in Bender Arena.
With the score 60-59 in favor of Holy Cross after the Crusaders' Colin Cunningham hit two free throws at the 1:19 mark, the visitors had a chance to put the game away. HC guard Pat Doherty was fouled with 47 seconds left and went to the line for two free throws. However, Doherty, an 80 percent free throw shooter entering the game who had already hit his first four attempts, missed both attempts. Junior forward Bryce Simon came down with a towering rebound to give the Eagles a chance.
The Eagles took advantage of the opportunity. With the clock ticking down past 30, then past 20, AU found junior forward Brian Gilmore under the basket. Gilmore pump-faked, got HC senior center up the air, then went up and hit the layup while being fouled. That gave American a 61-60 lead, and the ensuing free throw by Gilmore gave the hosts a two-point advantage with just 18.3 seconds left.
Things looked good for the Eagles, but they still had to come up with a defensive stop. It looked like American had done just that when the ball rolled out of bounds with the seconds ticking off. However, the referees awarded the ball to the Crusaders with 1.3 seconds left, but on the inbounds play HC was unable to get off a final shot before the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration by the Eagles and their fans.
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Things looked bleak for the Eagles in the first half. AU faced deficits as large as 11 points (at the 4:28 mark) and trailed for the entire period after giving up the first five points and seven of the first nine. American was able to cut into the lead a bit with a 7-2 run in the last four minutes of the opening period to go into the locker room trailing, 28-22.
Top-seeded American didn't let that lead last long, opening the second period with consecutive three-pointers, one by junior guard Garrison Carr and the other by Simon, to tie the game at 28 just 1:30 into the frame. A tie ballgame became a common theme over the game's next 12 minutes, as the two teams locked the score up five more times during that period, the last time at 45 a piece when Simon hit a layup off a feed from junior forward Jordan Nichols at the 8:18 mark.
Holy Cross pulled ahead by five on a three-pointer by center Tim Clifford and a layup by Cunningham. But the Eagles then ripped the lead back for themselves, hitting a pair of three-pointers from Carr and Gilmore. With 5:51 left, AU led, 51-50.
Like a boxing match, each team took a punch then returned one over the next four-and-a-half minutes. Clifford hit a layup to give HC a one-point lead, then junior guard Derrick Mercer hit a three-pointer to make it a two-point advantage in favor of American. Clifford answered again with two free throws. Simon came back with a jumper in the lane, off a feed from Gilmore. The Crusaders tied the game for the eighth time (56-56) with two from the charity stripe by Doherty at the 2:25 mark. Then HC put itself up two with another two free throws, this time by Kyle Cruze.
Simon made another huge play, grabbing an offensive rebound off his own missed jumper. After getting fouled, Simon then hit a three-pointer on the inbounds play to give AU a 59-58 lead with 1:40 left. Finally, Cunningham hit his two free throws, setting up the final drama.
The Eagles were able to pull out the win on the strength of 53.6 percent shooting in the second stanza. While Holy Cross shot 52.9 percent in the latter half, the Eagles were able to get off 11 more shots in the second period. American also hit seven-of-nine three-pointers in the second half, with four of those threes coming in the last six minutes. In addition, the Eagles only turned the ball over one time in the second half.
Holy Cross, which finishes its season 15-14, was led by Clifford, who scored 23 points in his final collegiate game, adding six rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Cunningham had 20 points for the Crusaders.
Mercer led four American players in double-digits with 16 points, including two three-pointers, along with five rebounds, four assists and just one turnover in 40 minutes. Carr also played 40 minutes, scoring 14 points on five-of-nine shooting, including hitting four-of-five from outside the arc, while also only turning the ball over once. He added four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Simon had 12 points and Brian Gilmore hit four-of-six shots to finish with 10 points.
American, which improves to 19-11 overall, now hosts its first-ever Patriot League Semifinal in Bender Arena on Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. versus Army. The Black Knights, the five seed, earned a trip to the semifinals with an overtime win over fourth-seeded Lehigh. In the other semifinal, third-seeded Colgate will host seventh-seeded Bucknell, who knocked off second-seeded Navy in triple-overtime.
Tickets for American's semifinal game in Bender Arena are available by clicking here or by calling (202) 885-TIXX. The game will also be available on Eagle Vision All*Access. Click here to watch or to subscribe.