After senior forward Jason Thomas scored 23 points against Vermont Saturday, tying his career high, his teammates and coaches could only hope it was a sign of things to come.
But even the most optimistic could not have predicted a repeat performance as soon as the one he gave Wednesday night in AU's 75-64 win at Towson.
This time, Thomas set a new career high, scoring 26 points on a night when his three-point and free-throw shooting were perfect - he was 5 for 5 in both categories - and the rest of his game was nearly as impeccable. The senior accrued his second career double-double, as he also hauled in 12 rebounds. His first was Saturday.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence," said AU head coach Jeff Jones. "Confidence is a strong factor in players playing well. I think the team is recognizing it, and they're looking for him. And he's taking it in stride. He didn't take tough shots tonight."
The Eagles as a team were good, but not great, handily beating an inferior opponent but letting Towson stay in striking distance until the final minutes. But with the contributions of Thomas, as well as senior forward Patrick Okpwae, who also had a career high with 16 points, AU pushed its record to 4-2 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Having never trailed since early in the first half, the Eagles made their biggest move with a 12-0 run midway through the half in which five different Eagles scored field goals. Sophomore guard Andre Ingram's three-pointer ended the run, giving the Eagles a 59-41 advantage with 8:47 left to play.
Towson responded, quickly closing its deficit back to 10 points. But the Tigers would only claw to within nine of the Eagles, and that came in the game's final minute.
Thomas' hot shooting apparently helped the distribution of both AU sophomore guards. Linas Lekavicius, who is still growing into the point-guard position he's been asked to assume, had seven assists and just three turnovers. Ingram, expected to be AU's leading scorer this year, had a quiet scoring night with nine points, but also had six assists.
"This team right now is playing really well together," Thomas said. "We feed off each other, and we're sharing the ball really well. Everyone on this team is contributing in every way. All I care about is about winning, and hopefully we can keep it going."
For Towson, forward Lawrence Hamm led the way with 20 points, with fellow forward Winstonn Tubbs adding 10. Despite the loss, point guard Trevan Jackson also had a good night for the Tigers, dishing out eight assists and turning the ball over just twice.
AU shot 56 percent for the game, 65 percent in the second half. The Eagles also shot 90 percent from the foul line, one place where they struggled against the Catamounts Saturday, especially late.
The Eagles return to Bender Arena Saturday to what will be another tough test, against the Ohio Bobcats, in a 1 p.m. tip-off. Like the Eagles, the Bobcats - of the Mid-American Conference - have been playing well in the early part of their season.
"I don't know too much about them other than that they're a good team," Jones said. "By our four o'clock practice tomorrow we'll have film for the players to see. But the bottom line is we're playing relatively well, and we've got to continue that."
Jones said a big key for the Eagles will be to get a home-court advantage similar to the one they experienced last Saturday, when more than 1,500 cheered the Eagles to victory.
"A big factor that can't be overlooked is the crowd," Jones said. "I really don't know if the students know how important that is for us"
