WASHINGTON - The AU men's basketball team shot 21-of -26 from the free throw line, including 17-of-20 in the second half, and posted 20 points in the paint to help the Eagles defeat Holy Cross, 65-51, Friday at Bender Arena. The Eagles now improve to 7-4 in the Patriot League and 13-12 overall.
The Eagles opened the first stanza with a 10-2 run ending at 15:41 with the first of two dunks by Patrick Okpwae (Yaounde, Cameroon/Berkshire School). It was just the second career start for Okpwae, who finished with eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. With a pair of field goals by sophomore Jamaal Caterina (Portland, Maine/Brewster Academy), the Eagles continued to push ahead 15-10, but at 7:29 Michael Smiley sank a three-pointer for the Crusaders to bring the score within one.
At 3:39, Okpwae found the basket for his second dunk off a defensive rebound and assist by Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville), which gave the Eagles a 23-17 lead. As the clock ran down, the Crusaders were able to take their first lead of the game as they pulled ahead by two off a three by Kevin Hamilton (25-23). However, Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/Univerza V Ljubljani) tied the score at 25 apiece after making both his free throws to close the scoring in the first half with 45 seconds remaining.
In the second stanza the two teams battled point for point, until the Eagles took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Linas Lekavicius (Silale, Lithuania/The Miller School) (40-38). Rodriguez followed with another throw and then threw an alley-oop pass to Jason Thomas (Herndon, Va./Notre Dame Academy) who slammed home the dunk at 7:12. Okpwae followed with another free throw and Thomas capped off the seven-point run with a pair of free throws. AU led 45-38 with 6:09 remaining and the Crusaders could get no closer than six the rest of the game.
The Eagles pushed the lead to 14 in the final minute thanks in part to making their final eight free throws. The victory gave AU's Jeff Jones his 200th as a head coach.
"I could tell by the look of our guys tonight that they were into the game," said head coach Jeff Jones. "I think the crowd and atmosphere really helped us tonight."
Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac Senior) and Thomas led the Eagles with 12 points each, while Rodriguez put up five assists in addition to his six points and three boards.
For the Crusaders, Hamilton led with a game-high 14 points, while Joe Young was not far behind with 11 points.
The Eagles will next face Colgate at Bender Arena, Sunday, Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.
