Troy Brewer’s 23 points weren’t enough to lead the AU men’s basketball team to victory Dec. 10, as St. Francis University (Pa.) snapped AU’s eight-game winning streak with a 66-61 victory over the Eagles.
Brewer led all scorers on the game as he shot 7-9 from behind the 3-point line. Charles Hinkle, Blake Jolivette and Daniel Munoz each chipped in 10 points, while Munoz added five assists and two steals for the Eagles (8-3, 0-0 PL).
"We prepared our guys coming in that this team played well at home," AU Head Coach Jeff Jones told AU Athletics. "The 3 was falling against their 1-3-1 [zone defense] in the first half, and I don't think they played a single possession of that in the second."
AU controlled the first seven minutes, jumping out to a 20-5 lead on the Red Flash (3-7, 2-0 NEC). Ollie Jackson and Anthony Ervin put up a 3-pointer and jumper, respectively, to slice AU’s lead to 10 with 11:40 to play in the opening half.
Brewer later knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to extend the Eagles’ lead to 31-17 with just over five minutes to play until halftime.
Jackson again battled back with a triple of his own, but Brewer nailed back-to-back 3-pointers late in the half, and his sixth from long range put the Eagles up 37-21. AU held a 39-25 lead at the half.
Brewer’s 18 points in the first half all came on 3-pointers, as he went 6-7 from beyond the arc. AU shot 56 percent (14-25) from the field and 60 percent (9-15) from 3-point range in the first half; while the Red Flash shot 60 percent (3-5) from deep, but the Eagles held them to 41 percent (10-24) from the field.
St. Francis started the second half on an 11-4 run. The Eagles again turned to Brewer, who put up five consecutive points on a jumper and a 3-pointer to give AU a 50-38 lead.
As the half wore on, the Red Flash slowly crept up on AU’s lead. Jackson’s layup at the 6:06 mark put his team within three points of the Eagles, but Munoz was able to take advantage of two free throws to keep AU on top.
Seconds later, St. Francis’ Scott Eatherton took two free throws of his own, which preceded Jackson’s 3-pointer that gave the Red Flash a one-point lead at 57-56 with 2:47 to play.
Trailing by three points with under a minute to play, the Eagles had a chance to tie but Hinkle’s 3-pointer was off the mark. Eatherton led the way at the line for the Red Flash down the stretch to secure the victory.
AU shot 44 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from behind the arc on the night, while St. Francis made up for its first half woes by shooting just under 50 percent for the game.
The Eagles will next head to the Verizon Center Dec. 17 for a battle against No. 18 Georgetown.
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