The AU men's basketball team clinched the Patriot League regular season title with a late rally over the U.S. Naval Academy Wednesday night.
Down one point with less than two minutes to go, the Eagles came from behind to beat Navy 64-59.
The Eagles quickly jumped out to an early lead over the Midshipmen but couldn't sustain it through the rest of the game. The team had a less-than-stellar second half, shooting 28.6 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc.
"If anyone could tell me how we did it I'm all ears," Eagles Coach Jeff Jones said at the start of the post-game press conference. "It didn't look good and I thought we looked a little bit fatigued."
The team as a whole played very well in the first half but still struggled in the paint. They also struggled in the paint against Holy Cross and had to resort to the three.
For the first part of Wednesday's game, they didn't even attempt to get in the paint but instead worked from the perimeter scoring 12 of their first 15 points from field goal range.
Even with the high score, it was AU's defense, led by Jordan Nichols, which won the game. Nichols had an outstanding defensive performance. It was his block and subsequent rebound at the end that sealed the game.
"He has had a phenomenal year at the defensive end," Jones said. "He guards scores, blocks shots and does a lot to help his teammates."
On top of their defense their play from the line was important to the win as well. They were 13 for 18 from the line giving them a shooting percentage just under 72.2 percent.
It was also Senior Night in Bender Arena. Jones had stressed after Saturday's match against the College of the Holy Cross he was worried about emotion. He said he believed that it was the emotion that most likely caused the team fatigue.
"I do think we looked tired in the second half," Jones said. "I'm wondering if because of the emotion we got more fatigued and some how expended more energy."
Jones was somewhat right on his assumption that emotion affected the team's play. After the game the team's two top scorers and seniors Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer said the night affected their play. It was their last regular season home game. Carr said the night particularly affected his play down the stretch.
"I was extremely nervous in the second half especially when they made their run," he said. "I knew it was senior night and I just wanted to win so bad. There was a lot riding on the Patriot League and it hit me that it was my last game."
The Eagles will play their final regular season game Saturday at Lafayette College. While they have the first seed already clinched, Jones said it is still important to win that game. He said he wants to carry momentum into the tournament and the team needs to keep up their winning ways.
Last night's win marked the first time American has taken the Patriot League regular season back to back. It is also the fourth time in Jones' nine-year tenure at AU that they have been regular season champs. It his short career here Jones has turned a struggling team around.
AU will lose most of its core players next year, as seven seniors will graduate in May. However, AU's strong showing in the NCAA Tournament last March allowed for the university to recruit several top players. It will be up to players like Stephen Lumpkins and Nick Hendra to step up and lead the team.
You can reach this staff writer at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.
