An extra five minutes of play was just what the doctor ordered for Garrison Carr to snap out of his game-long slump, as the senior guard scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in overtime to lead the Eagles to a 75-68 victory over Lafayette College Saturday afternoon.
Carr, who only shot three of 16 from the field during regulation play, hit three of four in the extra frame, with all three of those shots coming from beyond the three-point line. His first three-pointer of overtime only came eight seconds into the period to break a 60-60 tie, providing enough momentum for the Eagles to hold onto the eight-point win.
Despite the game featuring the Patriot League's best and worst teams record wise, with the Eagles and the Leopards, respectively, it was a back and forth affair all game long.
AU took the early lead on a layup by sophomore forward Nick Hendra two minutes into the game, a margin the Eagles pushed up to 5-0 at the 17:36 mark.
Lafayette quickly responded to take their first lead at the 15:04 mark on a layup by senior guard Andrew Brown to put the Leopards up 7-5.
After finding themselves down by as much as four at 12-8, the Eagles retook the lead on a three-pointer by senior forward Brian Gilmore at 12:05.
This would be a lead that the Eagles would not relinquish throughout the rest of the first half, increasing the margin to five entering halftime at 29-25.
The Eagles continued to hold the offensive momentum entering the second half of play, going on a quick 15-8 scoring run over the first six minutes of the period. This run was capped off by a free throw by freshman forward Stephen Lumpkins at the 14:51 mark to give the Eagles a 44-34 lead.
Lafayette battled back to shave the lead down to four only three minutes later before the Eagles went on another scoring stretch, going on a 7-0 run over a two minute thanks to free-throws by senior guard Derrick Mercer, to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 52-41 with just more than nine minutes to go.
The Eagles slowly let the Leopards back into the game, with Lafayette going on 14-6 run over the remaining minutes of the second half to tie the game up at 60 entering overtime.
Missed free-throws once again hampered the Eagles efforts to put away the game, as the team only hit one of four from the line during the Leopard run.
In overtime, it was Carr who came up big, hitting his three three-pointers to help push the Eagles over the top. Each time the Leopards came within two points in the extra frame, Carr hit one of his long shots to stretch the Eagle lead and assure the team of the victory.
With the win, the Eagles now end the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, the fourth longest active winning streak in the country. They also finish the season with a 21-7 record overall and 13-1 in Patriot League play, their best conference record since an undefeated 11-0 mark in the East Coast Conference in 1980-81.
The Eagles return home to Bender Arena to take on Lafayette again in the first round of the Patriot League tournament Wednesday night. AU will look to continue its nine-game home winning streak this year on their way to a second-straight league tournament title.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
