Feb. 13, 2008
WASHINGTON - On a night junior guard Garrison Carr broke the Patriot League single-season three-pointers made record, the American University men's basketball team followed Carr's lead and defeated Bucknell, 68-64, Wednesday in Bender Arena.
Carr finished with 24 total points and five three-pointers to give him 103 on the season. He becomes the first ever Patriot League player to eclipse 100 three-pointers since the PL became an all-sport conference in 1990. The previous record was 98 by Mark Lueking from Army, who did it in 1995-96.
Meanwhile, American repeated it's tried and true pattern from many games earlier this season: build up a big halftime lead (AU led, 35-24), hold off a charge by the opponents (Bucknell got to within three late), and seal the victory with solid free throw shooting down the stretch. AU did just that to open up a 1 ½ game lead on its closest competitor in the race for the league regular season title.
American's bench helped the Eagles stake its big halftime lead, as the reserves hit four-of-seven shots and outscored the Bucknell bench in the opening period, 13-2. Overall, American shot 50 percent (11-of-22) in the first half, compared to the Bison's 40 percent (10-of-25).
Fans who watched the Eagles build up an 11-point halftime lead only to lose, 66-62, in the first meeting this season must have grimaced when the Eagles, after building a 16-point lead to start the second half, gave up a 12-0 run to the Bison to make it a four-point game with 14:28 left.
However, the Eagles defense stiffened and did not let up another point for another 4:13. Meanwhile, American got one-of-two free throws from Derrick Mercer, then Carr hit a dagger - a three-pointer over a defender to give American an eight-point advantage with just over 10 minutes left. After Bucknell's Darryl Shazier answered with a quick layup to cut the lead to six points, Carr again silenced the Bucknell faithful in attendance with another three, this time at the 9:31 mark, to pad the cushion to nine points.
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After the game, AU Head Coach Jeff Jones praised Carr, who played all 40 minutes for the fourth consecutive contest.
"He doesn't seem to get tired. He keeps moving and he's got the quick release. We need his points, but we also need other teams to focus their defense on him."
Still, the excitement wasn't over. Though American held a 64-54 lead with just 38 ticks left, Bison senior guard John Griffin hit a leaning three-pointer to make it a seven-point game. Carr hit one-of-two free throws to push the lead back to eight, but the Bison's Stephen Tyree was fouled and made both shots to put the score at 65-59. Then, after an Eagles turnover, Griffin hit another three-pointer with 18 seconds left. Suddenly, AU found itself up just three points.
The game would come down to foul shots. The Bison fouled junior forward Brian Gilmore first. After a miss on the first attempt, Gilmore smoothly nailed the second try to make it a four-point bulge. The Eagles stepped up their defense on the next possession and forced a turnover in the lane by Shazier, and on the ensuing foul by the Bison, Mercer swished both his free throws with just seven seconds left to ice away the victory. Shazier hit a late layup, but it wasn't enough.
Free throws were the big story in the game, as the Eagles outscored the Bison, 25-11, from the line. AU hit all but five of its 30 attempts (83.3 percent), with Mercer (eight-of-10) and Gilmore (six-of-eight) leading the way.
"[Free throws] were huge," Jones said. "Being able to manufacture points by driving the ball and getting to the free throw line; that helped us get over the hump."
The win snaps an eight-game slide against the Bison. AU had not defeated Bucknell since 2005, when it split the season series with BU.
American, which has won a season-high four straight games, is now 15-10 overall and 7-3 in the Patriot League. Carr finished with 24 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Mercer had 12 points and six assists, while Bryce Simon rounded out three Eagles in double figures with 10 points.
"We've got a good balance. We've got a lot of different guys playing well and making contributions in different ways," Jones said.
Griffin led the Bison, who fall to 10-14 overall and 5-5 in the PL, with 24 points, all on three-pointers. He hit eight-of-12 attempts from outside the arc and scored his 1,000th point during the game. Tyree was the only other Bison to reach double figure, with 11 points. He added a game-high seven rebounds and six assists.
American next plays at Colgate on Sunday in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Game time is set for noon. Check your local listings for the station in your area.
"This was a huge game tonight," Jones said. "But the Colgate game Sunday is huge. We need to stay focused and work hard and take advantage of our opportunity."
