WORCESTER, Mass. -- After climbing back from double-digit deficits twice in the game, the American University's men's basketball team (16-14) was unable to overcome Holy Cross (26-4), falling 72-64 in the Patriot League Championship. Steve Miles scored 19 points including AU's last 11 of the game to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Miles was joined by Glenn Stokes on the All-Tournament squad.
In an exciting first half with each team having a 12-0 run and shooting 54.2 percent from the floor, it was Holy Cross who struck first. Jernavis Draughn had a steal and layup to open the game for the Eagles, but the Crusaders proceeded to go on a 12-0 run keyed by five points from Jave Meade and four from Tim Szatko. Miles finally broke the drought for AU with a jumper in the middle of the lane ending a stretch of nearly four minutes without a point for the Eagles.
A traditional three-point play converted by Draughn helped to bring the Eagles within seven at 14-7. Stokes drained a three-pointer after an Andres Rodriguez steal and Raimondas Petrauskas had six points as part of a 12-0 AU run to put the Eagles on top, 19-17. Patrick Whearty made a nice move in the post to tie the game at 19 ending a stretch of almost four minutes without a basket for the Crusaders.
After Holy Cross reclaimed the lead at 21-20, Jason Thomas drained a three-pointer to put the Eagles back on top. Stokes made a trey from the corner to give AU a 28-24 lead with under five minutes remaining. The Crusaders fought back to claim the lead at 29-28 on a three-pointer by Mark Jerz. A Petrauskas jumper and a three-pointer by Rodriguez gave the Eagles a four-point advantage. Szatko made another mid-range jumper and Kevin Hamilton had a steal and a layup as the teams went to halftime tied at 33.
The teams traded three-pointers to open the half before the Crusaders went on an 11-0 run with Whearty scroing nine of the points to help Holy Cross open a 47-36 lead. Two Stokes free throws and a steal and basket by Draughn ended the Crusader run and brought the Eagles within seven. Whearty fouled Stokes while shooting a three-pointer and the senior guard calmly made all three foul shots to make the score 49-43 with under 13 minutes remaining. Two Demek Adams free throws capped a 9-2 run that cut the Crusader lead to four.
An Adams steal and a Thomas fast-break layup brought the Eagles within two at 51-49 with 9:30 remaining. Two Miles free throws tied the game at 51 with just over eight minutes to play. Holy Cross quickly pushed the lead back up to five as Hamilton made a basket and was fouled. Whearty rebounded Hamilton's missed foul shot and converted his own traditional three-point play to make the score 56-51.
The Crusaders got two offensive rebounds before Hamilton made a three-pointer to stretch the lead to eight. Brian Wilson drained a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down to cap an 11-0 Holy Cross run. Miles scored seven straight for AU including a deep three-pointer to close the gap to 62-58 with under four minutes to play.
After two Holy Cross free throws, Miles rebounded his own miss for a layup to keep the Eagles within four. Szatko put the Crusaders back up by six with a strong post move. Miles continued his solid play with a drive to the basket to make the score 66-62 with 1:36 remaining.
Hamilton was sent to the free-throw line and made the first but missed the second. He ran down his own rebound and was able to call timeout before falling out of bounds. Whearty made two free throws, giving the Crusaders a 69-62 lead. Miles was fouled at the other end of the court while shooting a three-pointer and converted two of the three foul shots to cut the lead to five. However, Holy Cross made their free throws in the final minute to hang on for the win.
The Eagles only shot 31.8 percent in the second half while the Crusaders shot 54.2 percent in the second half as well. AU was outrebounded, 34-21 by Holy Cross and the Crusaders had 14 offensive rebounds. The Eagles did shoot 15-of-16 from the line in the second half to keep them in the game.
Stokes finished with 11 points while Petrauskas added 10 for AU. Whearty led all scorers with 21 points.
AU concludes the season after its second consecutive trip to the Patriot League Championship Game, finishing at 16-14 overall after a 9-5 record in league action.
