Feb. 4, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON - The American University men's basketball team pulled into a first-place tie in the Patriot League on Wednesday with a 58-34 win over Army in Bender Arena. Sophomore Nick Hendra scored a game-high 14 points for the Eagles while senior Derrick Mercer added 13 points and matched his career-high with eight rebounds. AU's 34 points allowed marks the fewest points the team has allowed since the 1960-61 season.

American (14-7, 6-1) used an early 9-0 run powered by six points from Brian Gilmore to take an 11-5 lead over Army (7-14, 3-4). The Eagles extended their lead to 17-7 when Frank Borden found Jordan Nichols for a layup with 10:20 to play. A Derrick Mercer three from the right corner put AU on top 23-11 and Nick Hendra gave the team a 14 point lead, 27-13, with 4:08 on the clock. Hendra missed on his first layup attempt before bringing down his own rebound and laying it in.

Army scored four straight points to pull to within 10, 27-17, but the Eagles answered the Black Knights with four quick points from Hendra to push their advantage back to 14. Hendra hit a 20-foot jumper and a driving lay-in, putting AU ahead 31-17. American held the ball for the final shot of the half but Hendra's three-point attempt rattled off the rim and the Eagles entered the locker room with a 31-17 lead.

AU outrebounded Army in the first half by a margin of 20-6 and shot 53.8 percent (14-26) from the floor. Mercer led all scorers with eight points and matched Army on the boards with six.

American took a 20 point lead coming out of the break as Garrison Carr hit two three-pointers to move the score to 39-19. Mercer pushed the Eagles advantage to 43-19 with a fast break layup before Army ended a 10-2 run for AU with two free-throws. Hendra gave AU a 26 point lead, 51-25, with his first three of the night and hit his second three to move the score to 56-30 with 5:33 remaining in the game. Hendra rounded out the scoring with a layup as AU held Army scoreless over the final 4:13 to secure the victory, 58-34.

Hendra finished the night with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Mercer added 13 points, five assists and matched his career-high with eight rebounds. Gilmore scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and dished our four assists.

AU's 34 points allowed marks the fewest points the team has given up since the 1960-61 team defeated Juniata 79-34. The Eagles held Army to just 31.8 percent (14-44) shooting for the game, including a 6-of-22 performance in the second half, while shooting 48.0 (24-50) percent themselves. American doubled Army on the glass, 38-19.

The Eagles improve to 6-1 in the PL with the win, tying Holy Cross atop the conference standings as the teams head into the second half of the conference slate.

American will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 7, as the team begins a two-game road swing at Lehigh at 7 p.m. Saturday's contest will be carried throughout the mid-atlantic region on MASN.