With just a little under three minutes gone by in the second half and the Eagles holding a six-point lead, senior Brayden Billbe had a clear look at the basket and went for a lay-up that was blocked by Lafayette's Ted Detmer, Billbe's third straight missed field goal.
A few seconds later, Detmer finished off the fast break with a dunk, cutting the lead to four and leaving head coach Jeff Jones visibly angry on the bench.
"In the beginning of the second half, I thought that we did a good job getting him the ball, but he did not do a good job of finishing around the basket," Jones said. "We had a little conversation on the bench and I think he got angry at me, but that's the way that I love our players, especially our big guys, to respond."
Billbe responded in a big way, scoring 14 of his career-high 20 points in the second half to complement Andre Ingram's game-high 25 points to lead the Eagles to a 78-67 victory on Friday night.
With the win, the Eagles finished at 7-7 in the Patriot League, avoiding what would have been their first losing season in the conference. The loss dropped Lafayette (9-20, 3-11 PL) into last place in the conference. The Eagles open the tournament at home against Colgate on Wednesday, while Lafayette will travel to Worchester to face regular season champion Holy Cross.
AU held a seven-point lead at the half, but Detmer's block and transition dunk highlighted a 9-0 run that gave Lafayette a 40-38 lead with 15:23 remaining. However, AU quickly responded with a 12-3 run highlighted by an Ingram three-pointer and three strong baskets by Billbe in the paint.
"I should have just dunked it," said Billbe on the finger-roll that was blocked. "Coach got upset, and I got upset at myself, but I guess I kind of player better when I'm angry, focus a little more. I didn't want to lose that game."
Lafayette cut the lead to 52-50 with a little over eight minutes remaining, but the Eagles scored 16 of the next 20 points to take a 13 point lead.
Matt Betley led the Leopards with 17 points, the lone Lafayette player in double figures.
AU's Derrick Mercer came off the bench to score 17 points and dish out nine assists, while Billbe grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
"I thought Derrick was really the key to the game," said Jones. "We really didn't get into the game and started playing our game until Derrick went in."
The Eagles led by eight points midway through the first half, but a lay-up by Andre Hines cut the lead to one with seven minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Arvydas Eitutavicius put the Eagles up 36-29 going into halftime.
Saturday night was the final regular season home game for AU's six seniors: Ingram, Billbe, Eitutavicius, Linas Lekavicius, Paulius Joneliunas and Sekou Lewis. Numerous friends and family members were in attendance, including Ingram's parents - who have attended every game - to Billbe's best friend, who got leave from the Naval Academy to be there.
"It's a great thing to play in front of all the people who have supported me, not just since I've played here, but since I started playing basketball," Ingram said.
"To be able to play well tonight meant a lot to me."
Hoops Notes: Mercer came off the bench for the first time in his career, with Lewis replacing him in the starting line-up on Senior Night.
Mercer and Brian Gilmore were the only underclassmen to score, with the six seniors combining for 60 of AU's 78 points.
Wednesday night's game against Colgate starts at 7:30 p.m., but tickets will cost $6 for students due to PL rules.
