Jan. 14, 2009
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University men's
basketball team won its fifth-straight game Wednesday night, 69-55,
against Bucknell in Bender Arena. Each of AU's five wins during the
streak have come by double-digits. Derrick Mercer
recorded a career-high 12 assists in the win, 10 of which came in
the first half, and Garrison Carr
scored a game-high 25 points.
The Eagles (10-6, 2-0) and Bison (3-13, 0-2) seemed evenly
matched to begin the game and AU led by just two points, 14-12,
with 11:39 remaining. American quickly heated up after that point,
embarking on a 10-2 run over a four minute stretch to take a 24-14
lead. AU scored six points in the paint during the run before Bryce Simon
nailed his first three of the game to give American the 10 point
lead. A three-pointer by G.W. Boon brought Bucknell back to within
seven on the scoreboard. Carr answered Boon with a three of his own
to retake a 10 point lead on AU's next possession and after a Jordan
Nichols block on the Bison's next trip down the court Carr sank
a second three-ball to put the Eagles on top by 13, 30-17.
Bucknell closed its deficit to eight points on a Darryl Shazier
trey with 4:34 remaining in the half but would get no closer. Nick Hendra
answered Shazier's three with one of his own and a Brian Gilmore three
with 1:33 to play put American on top by 14, 38-24. AU's lead
reached as high as 16 points in the first half on a Mercer fast
break layup with just over one minute remaining, sending the teams
into intermission with the score 40-24.
Mercer entered halftime with a season-high 10 assists as he and
the Eagles combined to shoot 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field in
the first.
Neither team was able to sink a shot early coming out of the
break and two free-throws by Nichols proved to be the only scoring
for the first five-plus minutes. Bucknell showed signs of life with
a 5-0 spurt to pull to within 13, 46-33, but American answered
right back with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 20 point lead,
53-33. The Eagles later took their largest lead of the game, 59-34,
with 6:45 on the clock following five straight points scored by
Carr.
Poor foul shooting late in the contest allowed Bucknell to take
off on a 12-0 run and pull to within 13, 59-46. In the end though
American prevailed, as Carr sank 8-of-10 free-throws in the last
1:19 to push the Eagles to a 69-55 victory.
Carr finished the night with a game-high 25 points, 12 of which
came from the line. Carr also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds
and picked up two steals. Nichols also finished the game in
double-digits with 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and
4-of-5 from the line. Nichols was huge on the defensive end for the
Eagles, blocking a season-high five shots and picking up six
rebounds. Mercer recorded a career-high 12 assists while playing
all 40 minutes and scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds.
American extended its current winning streak to five games with
the victory. Each game during the streak has come by double-digits.
AU last won five-consecutive games by double-digits during the
1980-81 season. The Eagles also improved to 2-0 in conference play
for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
AU will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 17, as the team
travels north to Hamilton, N.Y., to take on Colgate in a rematch of
last year's PL Championship. Tipoff from Cottrell Court is
scheduled for 2 p.m.
