Nov 29, 2008
AU Men's Basketball Falls to Fairfield, 82-73
Nov. 29, 2008
WASHINGTON - The American University men's basketball team was defeated by Fairfield on Saturday, 82-73, in Fairfield, Conn. The Eagles were led by 19 points from Garrison Carr and 16 from Brian Gilmore but in a game of streaks could not outlast the Stags.
American (4-2) took an early lead over Fairfield (3-3), 9-4, as four different Eagles scored within the first four minutes of play. Fairfield would quickly overtake AU however on the strength of a 9-0 run to open a 14-9 lead. Carr ended Fairfield's run with a jumper in the lane and would go on to score eight-consecutive points for the Eagles as AU cut their deficit to two, 19-17, with 11:40 to play.
Fairfield regained a small lead over American by the third media timeout, 27-21, but the Eagles were quick to respond. Derrick Mercer was fouled on a tough baseline drive and made the ensuing free-throw to cut Fairfield's lead to three and Gilmore connected on two shots from the line on AU's next possession to move to within one, 27-26. In a half of streaks though it was the Stags' scoring the next seven points to reopen an eight point lead, 34-26, with 3:28 remaining in the half.
Frank Borden put an end to Fairfield's run with a bucket with 3:12 to play and Carr hit a three with 2:29 left to bring American to within four, 35-31. Gilmore edged the Eagles closer with a lay-in on the next possession before Borden tied the score at 35 with a two-handed slam. Borden forced the action on the defensive end of the court, stripping Fairfield's Herbie Allen near midcourt and taking the ball the distance for the dunk with 1:44 remaining.
The Stags looked to regain the momentum after the Borden dunk, taking a 40-36 lead with 50 seconds on the clock, before two Nick Hendra free-throws pulled American to within two, 40-38. On Fairfield's ensuing possession, the Stags let the clock get down to under 15 seconds before making their move to the basket. Point guard Jonathan Han attempted to drive past Carr near center court but Carr poked the ball away and came up with the steal. Carr missed a contested layup off the turnover but Steve Luptak was able to corral the rebound and put it in the hoop as the buzzer sounded to tie the score at 40.
Frane Markusovic put an end to a three-plus minute AU drought to open the second half, scoring an easy lay-in off a Gilmore feed to put American ahead, 42-41, and after two Mercer free-throws on the Eagles' next trip down the court AU held onto a 44-41 lead with 16:15 to play. American led by as many as five in the early minutes of the half, 51-46, on a Gilmore dunk from as Hendra found him streaking down the right side of the court off a fast break.
A 9-4 Fairfield run gave the lead back to the Stags, 55-54, but only briefly as Mercer hit two free-throws to put AU back on top, 56-55, with 9:06 on the clock. A three by Fairfield's Edney put the Stags' on top once again, 60-58, before Gilmore answered Edney with a three of his own, giving the lead back to American, 61-60, with 5:44 to play. The Eagles however could not hold the lead as Edney hit a three with 4:15 remaining to take a 63-62 lead. American would remain within one point of the Stags as Mercer hit two free-throws to narrow the lead to 65-64 but would get no closer as Fairfield scored nine straight points to open a ten point lead, 74-64. The Eagles cut the lead to six points three times in the final minute of play, the latter coming on a Hendra lay-in to move the score to 79-73, but three Fairfield free throws down the stretch sealed the Stags' victory, 82-73.
Carr led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points and was complimented by Gilmore who notched 16. Mercer added nine points and Borden tallied seven.
American will return to action on Monday, Dec. 1, against Mount St. Mary's. Monday's game against the Mount will tipoff at 9 p.m. and will be televised live by MASN.
