The AU men's basketball team started off the season with dreams of a conference championship, but fell into a month-long slump over winter break. The Eagles lost six of eight games, including their first two Patriot League matchups. However, they have a chance to establish themselves as a contender on Saturday when they will host the PL-leading Holy Cross Crusaders.
The Eagles ended conference play with a respectable 8-6 record, including road losses to preseason A-10 favorite Xavier, and local ACC schools Maryland and Virginia. However, AU had a tough schedule to start off the PL season, going on the road to play Lehigh and Bucknell, two teams that the Eagles went 0-5 against last season.
Senior forward Brayden Billbe missed a game-tying jumper at the end of regulation against Lehigh, while seven second-half three-pointers weren't enough to overcome the two-time reigning PL champion Bison.
"We played two tough teams on the road in Lehigh and Bucknell and were close to them," said senior guard Andre Ingram. "Home court could give us the edge to beat some of the league's elite teams."
Saturday's game against Holy Cross is a chance for Ingram and the Eagles to prove that statement true, as they will try to extend their home winning streak to eight games. The Crusaders were the last team to hand AU a home loss, and hold a 10-3 all-time record.
"Holy Cross has been consistently at the top, and are an excellent team again this season," said Coach Jeff Jones. "Holy Cross doesn't beat themselves, so we'll need the same home court advantage that we face when we go to Bucknell and Holy Cross."
With a large crowd expected for the annual Phil Bender game, it will be important for the Eagles to get off to a good start and prevent the Crusaders from quieting the crowd as they did last year, when they led by as many as 16 points in the first half.
"We have to play hard against every league team, but against such a good team we have to focus on getting a good start," said sophomore point guard Derrick Mercer.
As important as getting off to a good start and keeping the crowd in the game is, AU's chance of winning will most likely be linked with the play of Ingram. Through Saturday, Ingram is averaging 16.8 points a game in AU's nine victories, compared to 12 points in the eight losses.
"I'm trying to be more aggressive and look for my shot a little more," said Ingram, who took just 18 shots combined in the first two PL games. "If I force the issue a little, it opens things up a little for everyone else."
AU 70 - Colgate 48
Andre Ingram scored 24 points and the Eagles led by 20 at the half en route to their first PL win of the season on Saturday over Colgate.
"This was one that we had to get," said point guard Derrick Mercer, who dished out five assists. "We were struggling and everybody's heads were down, so to win a game that like this was huge."
Senior guard Linas Lekavicius scored all nine of his points in the first five minutes to give AU an 11-4 lead. Ingram scored 11 points in the final five minutes to stretch AU's lead to 20 at halftime.
Unlike previous games where they built large first half leads, the Eagles kept the pressure on in the second half, never allowing Colgate back into the game.
"Our backs were up against the wall," said Coach Jones. "Being able to play with that type of energy for an entire game was huge."
Hoops Notes: At halftime, AU retired the No. 11 jersey of Willie Jones, who played for the Eagles from 1957-'60. He is third on the all-time points list with 1,982 points and holds the school's single-game record with 54 points, an NCAA tournament record that still stands. Jones joins former NBA All-Star Kermit Washington as the only AU basketball players to have their jerseys retired.
