The AU men’s basketball team got back on track with a huge victory over their nemesis Holy Cross 71-64 at the annual “Phil Bender” event Saturday.
The win gave Head Coach Jeff Jones his 300th as head coach and extended the Eagles’ home winning streak in Patriot League play to 19 games. Vlad Moldoveanu led American with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Stephen Lumpkins recorded his third career double-double with 17 points and 15 boards. The Crusaders were held to 39 percent shooting in the game.
“We certainly earned [the win],” Jones said. “It was very hard fought, as we knew it would be, but I thought we hustled, we scrapped and we earned it.”
Coming off a 20-point loss at Army during the week, AU looked to bounce back against Holy Cross in a rematch of last year’s Patriot League Championship. A season-high 2,743 fans were in attendance.
“It was a great atmosphere in here,” Jones said. “Our guys also know that we didn’t distinguish ourselves against Army. We were to determined to come in here and, at the very least, compete.”
The Eagles were aggressive early on, by quickly getting a lead with layups from Lumpkins and fellow sophomore Simon McCormack. Holy Cross also got off to a quick start as sophomore Devin Brown knocked down back to back three pointers.
AU was in control through the first 10 minutes of play; the Eagles shot 60 percent from the floor, controlled the rebounding margin and had all the momentum on their side. The Crusaders looked flustered and several of their shots failed to even grace the rim.
As the first half progressed, Holy Cross slowly began to pull itself back into game behind the strong play of Brown, who tallied 14 points and four rebounds in the opening period alone. Lumpkins led American to the locker room with a strong first half, almost recording a first half double-double with 10 points and eight boards.
“We were really just trying to be physical,” Lumpkins said. “We were just trying to attack the glass and get every rebound, especially against an aggressive offensive rebounding team like Holy Cross.”
The second half continued just as the first had ended, with AU and Holy Cross trading baskets and fighting for the lead. With 11:51 remaining, Vlad Moldoveanu found his stride and scored seven straight points to give AU a ten point lead.
The intensity in Bender Arena and bad blood between the two squads translated into extremely physical play on the court. Junior Nick Hendra jumped in front of a sprinting Devin Brown at one point to draw the charge, but all Hendra got out of it with a collision and a foul. Holy Cross’ Adam May prevented a Lumpkins dunk by slamming him to the ground, sending Lumpkins to the line and the Blue Crew into an angered frenzy.
“It’s always a physical battle with Holy Cross,” Jones said. “Their players have been through the wars; they’re big, strong and experienced. We tried to not just match, but exceed their physicality.”
AU’s low-post combination of Lumpkins and Moldoveanu proved to be too much for the Crusaders, as the duo led AU to a 39-29 rebounding advantage in the game. Freshman guard Daniel Munoz, along with Moldoveanu and Hendra, hit clutch free throws down the stretch to ensure an AU victory.
“The fact that we were able to win the battle on the boards was huge. Lumpkins’ 15 rebounds weren’t rebounds against Sisters of the Poor,” Jones said. “They were 15 rebounds against men, and that was a huge statistic for us.”
The win is AU’s second in Patriot League play and keeps them in a four-way tie for fourth place in the league. Next up for the Eagles is a Wednesday match up with Navy at 7:30 p.m. in Bender Arena.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
