Another home game, another victory for the AU men's basketball team as the Eagles defeated Lafayette College 78-56 in the Patriot League quarterfinals last night in Bender Arena. It was the team's 15th win in a row over league opponents on their home floor.
"I am very pleased with the win," AU head coach Jeff Jones said after the game. "We played well with a lot of intensity."
Although the final score showed a lopsided AU victory, the first half was far from dominating, with the two teams playing neck and neck over the first 10 minutes of the game.
Trading baskets back and forth, the Leopards climbed to within one at 16-15 on a bucket by junior guard Michael Gruner - two of his 10 points on the day.
This would be as close as Lafayette got throughout the rest of the game, however, as the Eagles went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a bucked by senior forward Brian Gilmore, to go up 24-15 with 7:55 to go in the first half.
The Eagles took their largest lead of the first half, at 41-28, on a layup by senior guard Garrison Carr with 51 seconds to go to halftime before heading into the locker room at 41-30.
"I exhorted them at halftime to come out with a much greater energy and intensity," Jones said.
One bright spot in the first half for the Eagles was their defensive effort against Lafayette's senior guard Andrew Brown, one of the Leopards' leading scorers. Brown was held to zero points on 0-6 shooting from the floor.
"Mercer did a tremendous job on Brown," Jones said. "Derrick loves a challenge [in defending Brown]. The big thing is to make him [Brown] work for everything he gets."
After letting Lafayette stick around in the first half, the Eagles made sure to make the statement that they wanted to put away the game early in the second half of play.
AU started the half on a 13-0 run, putting the Eagles ahead 54-30, the team's largest lead of the game. The run was highlighted by a thunderous dunk by Gilmore, who brought the 1,903 fans in attendance to their feet and placed the momentum squarely in the Eagles' favor.
The Leopards closed the gap to only 15 with less than seven minutes to go but a bucket and free throw by senior forward Jordan Nichols iced the game, leading the Eagles to the eventual 67-53 win.
The win was also the Eagles' 11th in a row overall - the third longest streak in the nation. The Eagles have also won 18 of their last 19 overall, with their last loss coming to the College of the Holy Cross back on Jan. 24 in Worcester, Mass.
Despite claiming that they could have played much better than they did, the team is thankful the Leopards are behind them and can look forward to their semifinal matchup against the U.S. Military Academy Sunday afternoon.
"We are just happy that we got a nice win against a good team," Mercer said.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
