Box Score The American University men's basketball team fell to Lafayette in double-overtime Sunday, 73-71, in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals at Bender Arena. Jim Mower hit a three with 0.5 seconds left to give the Leopards the victory.
A layup by Vlad Moldoveanu put the Eagles up by six with 3:17 remaining in the second overtime, but a Jared Mintz layup and four straight free throws tied the game at 70-70 with 1:37 left. After a Stephen Lumpkins free throw put American up one, Moldoveanu couldn't convert a three from the corner to give the Eagles a four-point edge. Mower then pulled up outside the arc after Tony Johnson raced down court and buried the shot to give Lafayette the win.
Moldoveanu became the 28th player in program history to record 1,000 career points Sunday and finished with 25, including six in the second overtime period. Lumpkins notched his second straight double-double with 19 points and 10 boards, while Troy Brewer scored 14. Mintz led Lafayette with 20 points and seven rebounds.
American (22-9, 11-3) got on the board first as Moldoveanu blew by his defender for the layup. The Leopards (13-18, 6-8) quickly responded with a baby hook, beginning a 7-1 Lafayette run. Moldoveanu drained a three pointer to stop the run and a Nick Hendra layup in transition pulled the Eagles to within one, 9-8, with 12:38 remaining.
After a Nick Petkovich jumper, Hendra hit American's second three of the afternoon to tie the game at 11-11. The Leopards answered with a three of their own before Brewer completed an old-fashioned three-point play to tie it once again. In between a Les Giese three and two Mintz jumpers, Moldoveanu notched seven points for the Eagles, including the 1,000th of his career on a layup over Darion Benbow. Lafayette score six straight to grab their biggest lead to that point, but a pair of strong layups by Lumpkins made it 29-27 Lafayette entering halftime.
Moldoveanu was the only player in double-figures at halftime with 13 points. Lafayette shot 54.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Eagles 15-12.
Moldoveanu quickly tied the game with a layup to open the second half until the Leopards went on a 10-4 run to make it 39-33 at the 12:48 mark. A putback by Tony Wroblicky cut the deficit to four and a Moldoveanu layup brought American within two, 43-41, with 8:04 remaining. After the two teams traded baskets, Ben Wheeler hit a three to make it 48-43.
The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run, tying the game with 3:02 left and taking the lead, 50-48, on a Brewer floater at the 1:46 mark. Mintz looked to respond with 28 seconds on the clock, but Lumpkins turned him away and was fouled on the rebound. The game seemed safe after he hit one of his two free throw attempts, but Willen drained a three-pointer to tie the game with 12 seconds left. A Brewer three rolled in and out of the cylinder at the buzzer and the game entered its first overtime period.
Brewer knocked down a three to open overtime, but Mintz answered with a baby hook over Lumpkins. The junior forward responded with a nice play of his own on the other end, splitting two defenders for the layup. Each team scored a layup to make it 60-57 American with 2:03 remaining, but a pair of free throws and another Mintz hook put Lafayette ahead, 61-60. Brewer converted two clutch shots from the charity stripe to put the Eagles up 62-61, but Lumpkins fouled Mower with 11.9 seconds left in the period. Mower hit his second free throw, and a runner by Daniel Munoz bounced off the rim to send the game into double-overtime.
American shot 39.1 percent from the field and converted just three of its 16 three-point attempts. The Eagles were dominant down low, however, outscoring the Leopards 44-20 in the paint. There were seven lead changes in the contest and the score was tied 14 times.
With his 25 points, Moldoveanu tied Gordon Stiles '70 with 1,012 career points, the 27th most in program history.
American concludes the season with a 22-9 record and an 11-3 mark in the Patriot League. This is just the 12th team in program history to win 20 games or more while the 22 wins rank 4th all-time at American.
