LEWISBURG, Pa. - The American University men's basketball team forced Bucknell into 18 turnovers in the second half, but eventually they fell to the Bison by five points, 67-62. American is now 11-11 on the year and 5-3 in Patriot League play.
The Eagles used a full-court press in the second half to get back into the game. They were led by Linas Lekavicius (Silale, Lithuania/The Miller School), who finished with an AU record nine steals. When Lekavicius hit two free throws with 2:05 remaining he brought the Eagles to within one point (58-57), which was the closest the Eagles had gotten all game. During the run, AU's defense also bothered the Bison at the free throw line, as they missed five in a row and eight-of-11. However, Bucknell hit three-of-four free throw attempts from 1:36 to 1:04 to build the lead back to four points (61-57).
Bucknell jumped on the Eagles early, taking a 14-2 lead just four minutes into the game. AU climbed back into the contest on the strength of an 11-3 run. Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) started it off with a three and Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto/Louisville) followed with another trey at 13:33. Ingram hit his second three of the game and Jamaal Caterina (Portland, Me./Brewster Academy) followed with a layup to bring the Eagles to within four points (17-13) with 11:09 left in the half. The teams traded baskets until the Bison went on another run. Leading 21-17, Bucknell finished off the half by scoring 15 of the final 19 points of the first stanza for a 36-21 halftime score.
Lekavicius provided a huge spark for American off the bench and in addition to his nine steals, he also registered four rebounds, eight points and two assists. Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac) led American with 17 points while Ingram finished with 16, including four treys. Raimondas Petrauskas (Mazeikiai, Lithuania/Lithuanian Physical Culture Academy) was hampered by foul trouble and played just 10 minutes, but made the most of it with seven points, three rebounds and an assist. Rodriguez finished with six points, four steals and four assists, which gives him 403 in his career.
Overall, AU caused a season-high 27 turnovers and notched 18 steals (eighth highest team total). As a team they were nearly perfect from the free throw line, connecting on 17-of-18 attempts with the lone miss coming with just 13 seconds left in the game.
Lekavicius' record of nine steals breaks the mark of eight set by two former AU players. Jarion Childs had eight versus James Madison (2/21/98) and Mark Nickens did the same against Harvard (12/6/80).
"Obviously it was a game of two dramatically different halves," said American University head coach Jeff Jones. "However, we told our kids coming in that Bucknell was a team playing very well and was very hungry."
Kevin Bettencourt led the Bison with 20 points, including seven-of-eight from the free throw line. Charles Lee chipped in 16 points, four assists, six rebounds and three steals. Lee was better than Bettencourt from the free throw line as he hit all eight attempts. Overall, the duo was a combined 15-of-16 from the charity stripe, while the rest of the team was seven-of-16.
AU will next play at Bender Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Navy. Game time is 7 p.m.
