AU 97, Morgan State 84
Andre Ingram and Garrison Carr each hit five three-pointers and Derrick Mercer dished out 11 assists to lead AU to a 97-84 victory over Morgan State on Tuesday night at Bender Arena.
A strong shooting performance by the Eagles, who hit 11 of 18 from three-point range, allowed AU to hold a double-digit lead for most of the game, an encouraging sign for a team that struggled to find consistent offense last season.
"The only difference between last year and this year is that the shots are falling so far this year," said Ingram, who added six rebounds and six assists to his team-leading 24 points. "It feels good, no doubt."
The Eagles started out strong, opening the first half with a 13-4 run, capped by a Brayden Billbe dunk that brought the Bender Arena crowd to its feet. Morgan State fought back, trailing by just four with six minutes remaining, until Ingram took over for AU.
After not taking a shot for the first 14 minutes of the game, Ingram hit two three-pointers and six free throws to give the Eagles a 14-point lead.
A 6-0 run by the Bears cut the lead to just 10 points at halftime, but the Eagles pulled away in the second half, shooting 60 percent and leading by as many as 19 points.
Mercer registered a double-double with 13 points to go with his 11 assists, while Billbe contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Morgan State's Ronald Timus scored 24 points to lead his team.
Although the Eagles held a comfortable lead for most of the game, Coach Jeff Jones wasn't pleased with everything he saw on the court, especially the way Timus played against the team.
"We are better than how we played tonight," Jones said. "Timus kicked our butts all over the court in the first half; we must do a better job defensively."
However, Jones was happy with the way the team shot the ball, especially Carr, who came off the bench to score 15 points, stretching out the defensive with several long three-pointers.
"It's not about me personally shooting well, it's about the team playing well," Carr said. "When I came into the game, things were going really well. I just didn't want to let my team down and disrupt the flow."
AU will look to stay undefeated when they travel to Richmond on Friday night to square off against the Spiders at 7 p.m.
Hoops Notes: Over 1,700 fans attended the first home game of the season, providing a more energized atmosphere at Bender than in previous seasons.The Eagles scored 50 points in the first half, just nine short of what they managed in their entire season opening game, which went into double overtime.Timus had several dunks, prompting fans to start chanting "scoreboard"
