The AU Men's Basketball team dropped its season opener at Virginia Commonwealth in overtime Monday, 82-76, in a preseason National Invitational Tournament first-round game that had more than its share of mixed messages.
For sophomore guard Andre Ingram, it was his first game in his hometown of Richmond, Va., since his high school career. And despite being subjected to heckling from some of his hometown fans, the guard was obviously inspired, scoring a career-high 38 points.
"You could tell by his reaction that he was emotionally into it," said head coach Jeff Jones. "Outwardly, going into the game I don't think there were any signs of it. But I think everybody knew he was excited to be back home."
Ingram eclipsed his career high by eight points by shooting 12 of 18 from the floor, including a simmering 6 of 7 from three-point range. But Ingram also shared the team lead in turnovers with senior guard Jason Thomas, committing five.
Ingram's sensational, sometimes sloppy performance was reflective of the team's night. The Eagles shot 54 percent from the floor and 67 percent from beyond the arc, but committed 20 turnovers, compared with the Rams, who only committed 11 turnovers while shooting a more pedestrian 46 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Linas Lekavicius, who is AU's first option to fill the metaphorically gigantic shoes left by the graduation of stellar point guard Andres Rodriguez, had a promising but inconsistent debut, turning the ball over four times but contributing three assists and six points.
And after a dominant first half, in which the Eagles led by as many as 17, VCU chipped away, eventually taking its first lead, 63-62, with 40 seconds left on a layup by B.A. Walker, who led the Rams with a career-high 27 points.
After AU and VCU exchanged a three-pointer for a two-pointer, Ingram hit a jump shot with .5 seconds left on the clock to tie the game and send it into overtime.
In overtime, the Rams, who were double-digit favorites, finally took control, springing to a six-point lead. AU never got closer than four points after that.
"Quite honestly, everyone's got a different perspective, but from the start I thought the game was about us," Jones said. "It was about us playing well out of the gate and about us simply running out of gas down the stretch. You've got to give VCU credit for keeping the pressure on ... but I really do believe we had the game, if we don't make some mistakes here and there."
Senior forward Matej Cresnik was the only other Eagle in double figures, with 13 points. Senior forward Patrick Okpwae and senior guard Ryan Graham both saw the most minutes of their careers, 35 and 20, respectively, and played well enough to draw praise from Jones.
"Ryan responded especially well. If we can consistently get that type of performance out of Ryan, that bodes well for our team," Jones said.
Jones had good words for Okpwae too. "That was the best game he's played in his career," he said. "It wasn't anything spectacular. He was just very solid against a talented and deep frontcourt."
For VCU, behind Walker, forward Nick George notched 24 points, and center Calvin Roland put in 10.
VCU out-rebounded AU 33-26, and the difference was more glaring on the offensive boards, where the bigger, brawnier Rams led 11-2. VCU scored 16 in overtime compared with 24 in the first half, 24.
The Rams advance to play Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the preseason tournament on Thursday night.
AU travels to upstate New York to play Niagara - which also lost in the first round of the preseason NIT to Providence - on Saturday at 7 p.m.
"They played very well, they're an excellent team, and they should have beaten Providence," Jones said. "We're certainly going to have our hands full."
The Eagles open their home campaign next Tuesday as Wagner comes to Bender Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
