Nov 25, 2008
AU Men's Basketball Outlasts Stony Brook, Take Home 56-53 Win
Nov. 25, 2008
WASHINGTON - The American University men's basketball team outlasted Stony Brook on Tuesday night as the Eagles pulled out a 56-53 victory in Stony Brook, N.Y. AU was led by Nick Hendra who scored a career-high 16 points and Frane Markusovic who added a career-high 13.
American (4-1) quickly fell behind after the tip as Jonathan Moore hit a three on Stony Brook's (1-3) first possession and Dallis Joyner scored on a lay-in to put the Seawolves ahead, 5-0. AU answered Stony Brook's run with eight straight points scored by Markusovic to tie the score at eight with 16:07 remaining in the half. Stony Brook was able to retake the lead however and went ahead by as many as six, 17-11, at 11:26 before American would go on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 19-17, with 9:09 left in the half. Jordan Nichols began the Eagles run with a difficult reverse layup from the baseline and was followed by back-to-back trey's from Derrick Mercer and Hendra to take the lead.
A Bryan Dougher bucket retied the score at 19 but not for long, as Hendra hit a pull-up jumper inside the lane to start a 5-0 run giving AU its largest lead of the half, 24-19, with 7:10 to play. American was able to score only five more points through the last seven minutes of the half but its persistent defense limited the Seawolves' offense and allowed the team to take a 29-26 lead into the half.
Stony Brook tied the score at 29 coming out of the intermission on a Moore three but Markusovic would again answer the call, scoring on two straight possessions to give AU a 33-31 lead with 16:39 on the clock. After a scoreless first half, the Eagles leading scorer Garrison Carr got on the board with a pull-up three in transition to put AU ahead by four, 36-32, and a runner by Hendra with 12:25 remaining put American up by six, 38-32.
The unmistakable highlight of the night came with American leading by four, 41-37, with 9:56 to play as Brian Gilmore came flying down the lane and threw down a one-handed put back off a missed Hendra runner to push AU's lead back to six, 43-37. Minutes later Hendra scored on a reverse layup off a feed from Stephen Lumpkins to give the Eagles an eight-point lead, 50-42, their largest of the game, at 5:31.
A 5-0 Stony Brook run after Hendra's bucket pulled the Seawolves to within three, 50-47, with under four to play. Two free-throws by Hendra with 2:39 remaining put the Eagles back on top by five, 52-47. After a Carr jumper from the right corner at 1:18 put American back ahead by five, 54-49, Stony Brook would score the next four points to bring the score to within one, 54-53, with 17 seconds to play. On the Eagles' ensuing possession Carr was fouled in the backcourt, putting him on the line, where he calmly sank two free-throws to move AU's advantage to three, 56-53, with 13 seconds on the clock. Stony Brook was able to get a decent look at the basket on their final possession as the buzzer sounded but the ball clanked off the back of the rim, preserving the 56-53 victory for American.
Hendra led all scorers in the game with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The sophomore was a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line and also pulled down a career-high six rebounds. Hendra was complimented by Markusovic who also recorded a career-high in points with 13. Markusovic hit 5-of-7 shots from the field and added three points from the charity stripe. Carr rounded out the Eagles scoring in double-digits as he tallied 10 points.
With the win, American improves its current win streak to four games and matches the team's best start to a season since the 1999-2000 team also began 4-1.
The Eagles will return to action this Saturday, Nov. 29, as they travel to Fairfield, Conn., to face the Fairfield Stags and complete their current four-game roadtrip. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
