It's not often that you win a basketball game when you make less than 30 percent of your shots, but the men's basketball team did just that, defeating conference rival Army and sweeping the season series 49-40 last night at Bender Arena.
Sloppiness dictated play from the start as both teams combined to turn the ball over on the first three possessions of the game before junior Bryce Simon knocked down a three-point shot to give the Eagles the early lead.
Even when both teams managed to protect the ball, the shots refused to drop. The Eagles made just eight of 22 shots in the first half, while the Black Knights made just five of 20 attempts. Still, the Eagles were able to stretch their lead to 12 points on junior Garrison Carr's jumper with four seconds left in the half. However, Army's Corbin Bates made a half-court buzzer beater to cut AU's halftime lead to 23-14.
Bates' last-second shot cued a 9-2 Army run that extended into the second half. The Black Knights capped off the run when Army's leading scorer Jarrell Brown hit a pull-up three-pointer from the left wing to tie the game at 32 with 11 minutes to go. However, the basket would be Brown's final points of the night as AU was able to shut him down on defense.
"There's no way with the way Jarrell Brown plays that any one guy is going to stop him," head coach Jeff Jones said. "Garrison Carr did a terrific job, but his teammates really helped him out."
Despite making just three baskets the entire second half, AU never fell behind.
Army's physical play put the Eagles in the two-shot free throw bonus with nine minutes to go. The Eagles made 19 of 24 second-half free throws while holding the Black Knights to just two of five from the free throw line in the half.
"We found other ways to manufacture points," Jones said, "It wasn't always pretty, but it was enough to get the [win]."
The Eagles also dominated the boards, out-rebounding Army 38-29, as junior Cornelio Guibunda led the way for AU with seven rebounds.
The win was AU's sixth in a row, and it gives them their longest winning streak in 20 years. More importantly, it clinched a first round home play-off game for the Eagles in the conference tournament. They improved to 17-10 and 9-3 in the Patriot League, remaining one and a half games up on second-place Navy, who they play in their next game in Annapolis Wednesday.
