After playing poorly in Wednesday's game against Bucknell University, sophomore guard Nick Hendra stepped up in a big way on Saturday, recording his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles to a 69-44 win over Colgate University. Their win, coupled with the College of the Holy Cross's loss later in the day, gave the Eagles sole possession of first place in the Patriot League.
"It was big, really important for Nick, especially after I was disappointed in the game at Bucknell," said AU Head Coach Jeff Jones. "He has to understand to not get down and play with a lot of energy. We can count on him now."
Hendra was one of four Eagles to score in double-digits, joining senior teammates Derrick Mercer, Garrison Carr and Brian Gilmore, who collected 15, 11 and 11, respectively.
The game started out well for the Eagles, who jumped out to a commanding 23-8 lead midway through the first half thanks to a 18-4 run that pushed the lead from a single point to 15 with seven minutes to go in the period.
The two teams would battle back and forth over the remainder of the half, with Colgate taking a mini 7-0 run to close out the half and shave the lead down to 33-20 entering the locker room.
The momentum quickly swung back in the Eagles' favor coming into the second half, with Carr hitting his first three-pointer of the game sandwiched around buckets from senior forward Jordan Nichols and Mercer to put AU up by 18, at 41-23.
The Eagles continued the offensive explosion as the half wore on, hitting on 51.9 percent of their shots in the period, with Hendra collecting seven of his game-high 16 points over a three minute stretch, capped off by a thunderous dunk on a drop pass from Gilmore that left Bender Arena rocking.
"At the beginning of the year, Coach told me, 'Efficiency is going to be your biggest thing this year,'" Hendra said. "I've just tried to crash the boards, be efficient on offense and be solid on [defense]."
With the victory - the sixth in a row for the Eagles - the team clinches a first round home game in the Patriot League tournament. Holy Cross's loss to Bucknell, puts AU in the drivers seat for the league's regular season title.
The Crusaders come to Bender Arena next Saturday, following an AU game against the U.S. Military Academy Wednesday night. Mercer said the team's focus is solely on the Black Knights - not looking ahead in the schedule.
"Army is a good team," he said. "We are just looking at the game against Army."
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
