The AU men’s basketball team captured their second straight home win against the Navy Midshipmen Wednesday night 69-59.
Junior Vlad Moldoveanu put on a show for the home crowd, finishing with 37 points and nine rebounds. Stephen Lumpkins chipped in 14 points and six boards of his own and helped AU out-rebound their opponents for the fifth straight game.
“This was another strong effort,” AU Head Coach Jeff Jones said. “I like how our guys battled when things weren’t necessarily going our way tonight, whether it was [foul] calls or mistakes."
From the opening tip, AU was unable to match the high level of intensity that helped them beat Holy Cross. The Midshipmen were able to conduct a balanced offensive attack early, in large part due to AU’s respect for Harris, who currently leads the Patriot League in scoring. Navy looked to be in command until Moldoveanu hit a pair of back to back threes, tying the game at 10-10 with 12:38 remaining.
The two teams exchanged baskets for several minutes until AU caught its stride and began responding to Navy’s intensity. A Lumpkins dunk and Luptak three in the middle of the period gave American a 30-23 lead at half.
Moldoveanu is normally the focus of the AU offense, but in the first half he went above and beyond the call of duty. In only 16 first half minutes, the Romanian scored 21 points and accounted for all but nine of AU’s points. He almost single-handedly outscored the Midshipmen.
“Vlad was great, he really carried us in the first half,” Jones said. “We’ve been talking to him about having a better balance between shooting threes and playing inside, and tonight I think he kind of struck the right balance.”
The second half got off to an uneventful start until Harris drained a three from the wing. AU's Riley Grafft came off the bench and responded with six consecutive points, but three-point plays by Harris and junior O.J. Avworo kept it close.
An 8-1 run with 9:47 left in the second half gave the Eagles a large lead that they would hold on to until the final buzzer. Navy was held to 39 percent shooting in the game and scored only two field goals in the last five minutes of the game.
In a battle of dueling stars, Moldoveanu simply outshone Harris in the end. Despite becoming the first AU player to score more than 30 points in a game since Garrison Carr last season, Vlad’s dominance still comes as little surprise to Coach Jones.
“We knew when Vlad came that he was a good player,” Jones said. “When he contacted us about transferring, we knew he’d be a good fit for what we’re trying to do. He very well may have been the best player on our team last year, he just wasn’t eligible.”
The Eagles, now fourth in the Patriot League, will face a tough challenge this Saturday as they take on the league-leading Lafayette Leopards away from Bender Arena.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com
