The future for the AU men's basketball team should be bright, with all five starters returning next year and a freshman class that contributed significantly to the team. However, Sunday's 64-50 loss at Bucknell exposed some problems that the Eagles need to fix if they are to be one of the elite teams in the Patriot League next season.
From the beginning of the game, it was obvious that the Eagles were overmatched. They turned over the ball on three of their first four possessions and allowed Bucknell to jump out to an 11-2 lead.
On the offensive end for Bucknell, PL Preseason Player of the Year Chris McNaughton was a one-man wrecking crew inside the paint, hitting eight of his nine field-goal attempts. He finished the game with 16 points and five rebounds.
Junior forwards Brayden Billbe and Paulius Joneliunas were ineffective on the defensive end, doing so poorly against McNaughton that 6-foot-5 freshman Jordan Nichols was forced to guard the 6-foot-11 center for extended periods of time. Although Nichols battled as hard as he could, even AU coach Jeff Jones admitted it wasn't fair to make him try guarding a player with such a great height advantage.
AU's forwards were also terrible on the offensive end. Billbe, Joneliunas, Nichols and Brian Gilmore scored just four points total in 60 combined minutes. Sophomore Travis Lay, at 6 feet, 5 inches, was the only post player who played well, scoring five points in 10 minutes on the court.
However, not all of the blame for AU's problems can go to the forwards. With Andre Ingram struggling and Joneliunas unable to establish any sort of a presence in the low post, Lekavicius became the only option for AU, scoring 21 points, almost half of the team's total for the game.
Luckily for the Eagles, they will never have to play this Bucknell team again because both Kevin Bettencourt and PL Player of the Year Charles Lee are graduating seniors. However, if the Eagles want to have success against Bucknell next year, they will have to find a way to shut down McNaughton.
That's not to say that there is no hope for AU next season. They have a talented team, especially in the backcourt. Ingram is a proven scorer, and even though he has struggled in his career against Bucknell, he will enter the season with one final shot at the PL title. Lekavicius had a strong second half of the season after earning back his starting spot, and was AU's best player in the tournament. Derrick Mercer was this year's PL Rookie of the Year and should improve as he gains more experience running the offense.
The competition in the PL will also be weaker at the top, as Bucknell's reign as the dominant team should end. Holy Cross is also losing the PL's top scorer, Kevin Hamilton, and Lehigh's second-leading scorer, Joe Knight, will be gone. As the younger role players develop, the Eagles' roster should match up with well with the rest of the league.
Overall, AU should be disappointed in the way the season ended, but hopeful for next season when it should return to being a contender for the PL championship.
