LEWISBURG, Pa. - Facing a deafening Sojka Pavilion home court and an undefeated Bucknell for its Patriot League turnament semifinal, the AU men's basketball trailed from the beginning and lost, 64-50.?
The Eagles' failure to score ultimately ended their season, a problem that's plagued them throughout the year.??
One bright spot was junior Linas Lekavicius, who scored almost half of the Eagles points with 21 - a season high.
"They played a match-up zone, so when they had a big guy step out I tried to drive it," Lekavicius said of his balanced offensive explosion.??
With two minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the game Lekavicius out-jumped two Bison for an offensive board and was fouled.?He hit both free throws to cut the Bucknell lead to nine, but on the next possession Chris McNaughton capped an often timely 16-point performance with a 5-foot, right-baseline jumper to douse the chance of any late comebacks.?
"This Bucknell team, it's safe to say, is the best PL team I've ever seen," said AU coach Jeff Jones, visibly dejected with baggy eyes and a hand to his forehead.?
Five AU forwards shot a combined 1 of 10 from the field despite Bucknell pressing up on the AU guards to take away open 3-pointer looks.
"We did not do a good job of getting in the paint," Jones said. "We thought we could throw the ball into the lane, but didn't do a good job of finishing at all."
After a seven-minute opening stretch with just one field goal, the Eagles fought back and put together their own 7-0 run to tie the game 11-11.
Bucknell's largest lead was 16, but AU stayed within striking distance throughout. Just when it seemed the Bison were ready to make a big run, the Eagles had an answer. With a jab step, spin and floating 6-foot shot over an outstretched defender, Lekavicius brought AU within 11 with 16 minutes to play.?
But the Eagles could never get enough stops to sustain a run, and when they did manage a defensive stand, they often gave up the rebound.
When freshman Travis Lay got a chance late in the second half, he helped AU pull down rebounds and get in transition.
Jones said after the game his decision to not play Lay until late was a mistake, and that he was the first of their big guys to make a positive contribution.?
AU advanced to the semifinals Friday by defeating Lafayette for the second time in six days, 75-62, behind 18 points from Lekavicius.
The Eagles came out on fire, hitting their first six shots and building an early seven-point lead. AU led by as much as 13 in the first half, but seven first-half 3-pointers kept Lafayette in the game.
Holding a 51-45 lead with 12 minutes remaining, the Eagles took control of the game with an 11-0 run. The sequence was highlighted by two straight 3-pointers by freshman guard Garrison
Carr.
