Feb. 11, 2009
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The American University men's
basketball team defeated Bucknell on Wednesday, 52-50, to improve
to 8-1 in the Patriot League and extend their current winning
streak to five games. Jordan Nichols
blocked a G.W. Boon jumper with less than 10 seconds remaining and
the Eagles survived an attempted buzzer beater to hold on for the
victory. Derrick Mercer
scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the
Eagles while Garrison Carr added
13 and five.
American struggled through early foul trouble and fell behind
11-6 as Bucknell made five free-throws in the game's first four
minutes and change. AU battled back to within one on a two handed
slam by Stephen
Lumpkins, 12-11, but four straight points scored by the Bison,
including two more from the charity stripe, put the lead back at
five, 16-11. The Eagles pulled back to within one point again with
a 6-0 run but consecutive Bucknell baskets moved the score to 23-18
with 4:21 to play.
Mercer pulled the Eagles out of their hole in the final minutes
of the first half, hitting a three-pointer and breakaway layup to
tie the score at 23. Mercer then gave AU its first lead since the
17-minute mark with a second three-ball with just over one minute
remaining. American finished off the half with a Nichols lay in and
held a 28-23 lead at the break.
American finished the half on a 10-0 run to retake the lead.
Mercer scored eight of his 11 first half points during the run and
was credited with four rebounds and two steals at the intermission.
AU shot 42.3 percent (11-26) from the floor in the half while
holding Bucknell to just 24.0 percent (6-25) shooting.
The Eagles extended their lead to 10 points to open the second
half, 36-26. The team went scoreless over the next three-plus
minutes however, allowing Bucknell to come back to within two,
36-34. Garrison
Carr ended AU's drought on a pull-up jumper with 12:37 in the
half and a Nichols bucket on the next possession put the lead back
up to six, 40-34.
Bucknell used a 6-0 run which included two baskets by Patrick
Behan to tie the score back up at 48 with 5:18 to play. American
retook the lead two possessions later, 50-48, as Mercer drove the
lane for a layup and then went ahead by four, 52-48, following two
Frank Borden
free-throws with 1:43 remaining. Bucknell came back down the court
and hit two freebies of their own to cut the lead to two. The
Eagles could not convert on their ensuing possession and gave the
ball back to the Bison with the shot clock turned off.
Bucknell set up a shot for G.W. Boon on the left baseline but
his shot was blocked by Nichols and AU gained possession. American
failed to ice the game at the free-throw line as Nichols missed the
front end of a 1-and-1 attempt with 6.8 seconds to play. The Bison
however could not steal the victory as Darryl Shazier's three-point
attempt at the final buzzer was short, giving the Eagles the 52-50
victory.
Mercer finished the night with 17 points, a game-high seven
rebounds, three steals and one assist. Carr scored 13 points for
the Eagles and turned in five rebounds and four assists. Nichols
tallied eight points on 4-of-4 shooting and was credited with three
blocks.
AU shot 40.4 percent (21-52) from the floor on the night while
holding Bucknell to 30.0 percent (15-50) shooting.
American has now won five straight games and 11 of their last
12. The Eagles are 8-1 in the PL, marking the program's best
conference record since the 1980-81 team went a perfect 11-0 in the
East Coast Conference. The win is AU's third straight over Bucknell
but just the team's first in Lewisburg since the 2001-02 season.
American will return to action this Saturday, Feb. 14, against
Colgate in a rematch of last year's PL Championship in Bender
Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live to
a national television audience on ESPNU. Tickets to the game are
still available and can be purchased online by clicking
here or by calling (202) 885-TIXX.
