March 4, 2009

Box Score
  

WASHINGTON - The American University men's basketball team defeated Lafayette on Wednesday, 78-56, to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Patriot League Tournament. The Eagles pushed their lead to as many as 24 points in the second half behind the hot shooting of seniors Derrick Mercer, Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore. Mercer finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting while Carr and Gilmore added 19 and 17, respectively. AU will face Army in the PL Semifinals this Sunday, March 8, at 12 p.m. live on Comcast SportsNet from Bender Arena.

American (22-7, 13-1) jumped out to an early lead over the Leopards as Derrick Mercer converted a three-point play to make the score 5-0 and Garrison Carr hit a jumper to extend the lead to 9-2. Lafayette (8-22, 4-10) charged back however and with 11:28 to play trailed only by three, 16-13. Lafayette made it a one-point game with a Michael Gruner basket but four straight AU buckets moved the score to 24-15. Mercer hit the first shot with a spinning driving lay-in and then assisted on a Nick Hendra layup. Jordan Nichols and Brian Gilmore capped off the run with a pair of baskets, giving the Eagles a nine-point lead.

AU and Lafayette traded baskets until the Eagles took a double-digit lead, 34-24, with 3:29 remaining on a Stephen Lumpkins lay-in and Gilmore three-pointer. Mercer's first three of the game made it an 11-point game, 37-26, with 1:49 on the clock and a Carr layup gave American its largest lead of the half, 41-28. The Eagles went into the intermission with a 41-30 advantage.

Mercer led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The senior also had three assists and a game-high four rebounds at the half. The Eagles shot a combined 62.1 percent (18-29) in the frame while holding Lafayette to 43.5 percent (10-23). AU also held a 14-9 advantage on the glass.

The Eagles increased their lead to 16 points in the opening minutes of the second half as Mercer found Carr curling around a screen on the right wing for a three and then followed that up with a driving lay-in. Gilmore pushed the advantage to 18 points, 48-30, with an emphatic two-handed dunk which put the crowd of 1,903 in Bender Arena on its feet. Back-to-back baskets by Gilmore later pushed the score to 54-30 and capped off a 13-0 AU run to open the half as the Eagles held the Leopards scoreless for nearly seven minutes.

American's hot hand continued with back-to-back Frank Borden baskets and a Gilmore jumper to move the score to 60-37. A small 6-0 run narrowed AU's advantage to 60-43 but with 8:22 remaining a Carr three put the lead right back at 20, 63-43. The teams matched each other point for point for a stretch of six minutes and with just over two minutes to play AU held a 71-53 lead. A two-handed slam by Borden off a backdoor feed from Carr with just over one minute remaining made it a 21-point game, 75-54, and Joe Hill capped off the scoring with a three-pointer as American took the game by the final margin of 78-56.

Mercer scored a game and season-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds and five assists. Mercer's five helpers move his career total to 507, placing him second all-time in AU history. Carr tallied 19 points with three three-pointers and three assists while Gilmore added 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and seven boards. Borden chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

`I think confidence is a great thing,' Jones commented following the game. `I think through the course of the Patriot League Season we saw Derrick start out playing well but I thought he kept getting better and better. For some reason the last two games he wasn't quite on but tonight he played like the best player on the court.'

American has now won 11-consecutive games and 17 of their last 18. The Eagles also improved their home winning streak against the PL to 15 games and have won 18 of their last 19 overall at home. AU is 5-1 all-time at home in the PL Tournament.

The Eagles will now face Army this Sunday, March 8, at 12 p.m. in the PL Semifinals live on Comcast SportsNet. AU has beaten Army twice already this season, 58-34 at home on Feb. 4 and 58-36 at Army on Feb. 18, and has won six straight against the Black Knights.

Tickets to Sunday's game are priced at $12 for adults and $6 for youth and can only be purchased online by clicking here or in person at the AU Box Office located in the lobby of Bender Arena. The Box Office will be open from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, for will call pickups and walk-up sales.