Although AU coach Jeff Jones praised the Eagles for playing hard Wednesday at Navy, they blew a six-point halftime lead against a team they had not lost to since February 1991 by falling to the Midshipmen, 77-68. According Jones, the loss against Navy made Saturday's Lafayette game even more important.
"We needed to win today," said Jones. "I apologize for using a clich?, but our backs were against the wall."
To inspire the team, Jones arranged for Demek Adams, a co-captain on the 2002-03 team, to speak to the team at a meeting the night before the game. Adams, who was a walk-on, told the team how much his time playing varsity basketball meant to him and to value every game.
"He told us that he wished that he could play again," said junior forward Brayden Billbe, who scored 12 points in 19 minutes of action against Lafayette. "With me being a junior, I can't just wait until next year, because what if I get hurt next year?"
Lucky break or nervous breakdown?
With the Eagles up 51-30 in the second half, guard Linas Lekavicius forced a Lafayette turnover and started a fast break. The ball ended up in the hands of Ingram, who slashed under the hoop and threw up a shot over his shoulder right before hitting the ground.
The shot went in, causing the Bender Arena crowd, which had grown silent after three consecutive turnovers, to erupt into cheers. Even Ingram's teammates were surprised by the play.
"I was actually running down the court and thought he was going to pass it to me for the dunk," Billbe said. "I was waiting for the rebound, and it just went in."
But not everyone was excited by the play. Jones was actually upset with it. He said he wished Ingram had initiated contact and drawn a foul, a play that has a higher probability of resulting in points. Although wasn't pleased with Ingram's decision, Jones was surprised that the ball went in.
"I couldn't believe that it went in," Jones said. "Sometimes it is nice to get the breaks."
Eagles fight from the inside
One of the keys to AU's victory was its dominant inside play. They outscored Lafayette 38-14 in the paint, boxed out the Leopards on the defensive half of the court and drove to the basket on offense.
But the most impressive part of AU's performance was its rebounding. They outrebounded Lafayette 26-4 in the first half and finished with a 43-14 advantage.
On the offensive glass, the Eagles consistently outhustled their opponents, scoring 19 second chance points. Freshman forward Jordan Nichols led the team with four offensive boards. An offensive rebound early in the first half gave him the 100th rebound of his short career
