With just two regular-season games remaining, the AU men's basketball team is looking to bounce back from a tough loss and gain momentum heading into next weekend's Patriot League Tournament.
The Eagles first play Navy tonight at Bender Arena before traveling to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette Saturday afternoon. Both games are crucial in determining seeding in the tournament. The Eagles can finish as high as fourth and as low as sixth. If the Eagles finish fourth or fifth, they would most likely travel to Bucknell for the first two rounds; if they finish sixth they would probably have to play at Lehigh.
Following Saturday's 69-62 loss to Holy Cross, junior guard Andre Ingram blamed the team's slow start on two bad practices during the week that deflated the team's energy level. Coach Jeff Jones made sure that it would not happen again, as practices this week have been intense and physical.
"That first practice was extremely tough," Ingram said. "It was good for us though. As physical as the coaches made that practice, that is how the game against Navy will be."
The Eagles played Navy once before this season, losing 77-68 at Alumni Hall Jan. 25. Although AU held a six-point lead at halftime, Navy stormed back to tie the game early in the second half and pulled away in the last five minutes.
"We lost a hard-fought game in Annapolis," Jones said. "Down the stretch they out-toughed us. They deserved to win."
In the first game, guard Greg Sprink lit up the Eagles defense, hitting 7 of 10 3-pointers on his way to scoring 27 points. In order to win, AU will have to find a way to shut him down.
"We need to make sure he has to work for everything he gets," Jones said.
The game against Navy is also Senior Night, and the Eagles will celebrate the final home game in the career of guard Craig Weinstein, the team's only senior.
Although Weinstein has not played much this season, his off-the-court contributions have been instrumental to the team's development.
"He has made significant contributions to our program," Jones said. "He is probably our smartest player basketball-wise. His teammates look to him for help."
Weinstein, a walk-on, will start the game in place of Linas Lekavicius.
"He would not be a captain if he did not deserve it," said junior forward Brayden Billbe. "We want to win and send him out the right way."
Saturday's game at Lafayette is the final regular-season game for the team, and it gives the Eagles the chance to sweep the regular season series following a 74-56 home victory on Jan. 28.
In that game, AU dominated the boards, outrebounding the Leopards 43-14. Ingram led the team with 14 points, but the offense was balanced with four Eagles scoring in double figures.
Despite their earlier successes, the Eagles are not taking their opponents lightly.
"It's important to know how we can play against them, but it does not mean a thing on Saturday," Ingram said.
If the Eagles defeat Navy, they would enter Saturday's game knowing that would face Lafayette in the first round. But it won't change their approach.
"At this point in the season, everyone in the league is familiar with one another," Billbe said. "They know what we are going to do; they just have to stop it."
However, Ingram said he thinks a win against Lafayette going into the tournament would give the team a boost.
"It is definitely an extra motivating factor," he said. "We can give them a taste of what they are going to see."
If the Eagles win both games this weekend, they would stand at 7-7 in the PL, good for fourth place in the conference. After a slow start, a .500 conference record would be a good achievement for a young team.
"That would be huge," Ingram said. "I'd take pride in that, to push back even after a 0-2 start"
