Jan. 31, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University men's basketball defeated Lafayette Saturday afternoon, 78-65, in front of 2,876 Bender Arena fans in AU's seventh annual Phil Bender Day. Brian Gilmore led the way for the Eagles with 22 points and Garrison Carr scored 18. The Eagles win extends their home winning streak against the Patriot League to 10 games.

American (13-7, 5-1) was matched by Lafayette (6-15, 2-5) in the early moments of the first half but the Eagles quickly found their stride and pulled away with a 15-3 run. Garrison Carr put AU on top initially, 9-6, with a three-pointer and was followed shortly after by a Derrick Mercer three-point play to move AU's lead to 15-9. Nick Hendra capped off the run as he was credited with a basket on a goaltending call to make the score 21-9. The Eagles continued to roll after a Ryan Willen three and extended their lead to 14, 28-14, as Bryce Simon hit a three from well beyond the arc with just over eight minutes to play.

Lafayette made a comeback with an 8-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to pull to within four on the scoreboard, 30-26. The Leopards then overtook the Eagles and went ahead by five, 41-36, on back-to-back threes from Jim Mower and Willen. Frank Borden converted a three-point play to bring the Eagles back to within two but an Andrew Brown jumper with six seconds on the clock gave the Leopards a 43-39 halftime lead.

The Eagles quickly tied the score after the break and briefly retook the lead, 47-45, on a Mercer fast break bucket. Lafayette responded with a three-ball from Jeff Kari to get back on top but a Mercer three-point play gave the advantage back to American, 50-48. Carr scored five straight points on a pull-up jumper and NBA range three to give AU a five point lead, 60-55, but the Leopards stormed back and retied the score at 62.

American took the lead for good at the free-throw line as Hendra and Carr combined for five freebies to put AU on top 67-62. Gilmore made it a 10 point game with a lay-in at the 3:12 mark, 72-62, and a Jordan Nichols two-handed dunk on AU's next trip down the court gave the Eagles a 12 point advantage. American's lead reached as many as 15 points on a Gilmore free-throw as the Eagles walked away with a 78-65 victory.

Gilmore led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and also recorded six rebounds and two assists. Carr scored 18 points with two assists and two steals. Nichols tallied 11 points with four assists and three blocks and Mercer also added 11 points. Frank Borden and Hendra led the team on the boards with seven a piece.

American will be back in action this Wednesday, Feb. 4, as the team puts its 10-game PL home winning streak on the line against Army at 7 p.m. Tickets to Wednesday's game are still available and can be purchased online by clicking here or over the phone by calling (202) 885-TIXX.