Mar 7, 2008

AU Men's Basketball Hosts Army in PL Tournament Semifinals Sunday


PL Tournament Semifinals Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

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Ticket Information:

  • Tickets to Sunday's PL Tournament Semifinal game between American and Army are still on sale. Tickets are priced at $12 for adults and $6 for seniors and youth. Admission is free for students with a valid AU ID. To purchase your tickets, call (202) 885-TIXX or click here.

March 7, 2008

WASHINGTON - After advancing into the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals with a thrilling 62-60 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday, the first seeded American University men's basketball team will now host fifth seed Army on Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in Bender Arena. The Eagles now need just two wins to earn an automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament.

AU moved into the PL Tournament Semi's with its come-from-behind win Wednesday night over Holy Cross. In the game the Eagles trailed for the entire first half and were down 28-22 at the intermission. Coming out of the break though Garrison Carr and Bryce Simon hit back-to-back three pointers to earn the game's first tie. The score would be knotted up five more times before American took its first lead with 5:51 to play off a Brian Gilmore three but the Crusaders regained the lead with just 2:05 remaining on a pair of Kyle Cruz free throws. Down one with under one minute to play, AU was forced to foul and put Pat Doherty, a 79-percent free-throw shooter, on the line. Doherty missed both shots though and with 18 ticks on the clock Gilmore drove down the heart of the HC defense and was fouled as his lay in went in. Gilmore calmly sank the free throw to put AU up, 62-60. On the ensuing possession the Eagles defense sealed the victory, holding firm and not even allowing the Crusader to get a potential game-tying or winning shot off.

AU received double-digit scoring efforts from four players in the win, including Derrick Mercer who scored a team-high 16 points, pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists in a full 40 minutes of action. Carr also played all 40 minutes for AU and scored 14 points with four three-pointers and two steals. Simon added 12 points and four boards while the game's biggest star, Gilmore, scored 10 off the bench and had a game-high seven assists.

The Eagles scoring quartet on Wednesday have also been AU's scoring leaders all season long. Carr, a First Team All-PL selection, leads the team with 18.0 points per game and set a new AU and PL record with 121 three pointers. Mercer averages 13.0 per contest and leads the team with 4.1 assists per game. Gilmore averages 8.7 points coming off the bench and 3.8 rebounds while Simon is good for 7.2 a night and 4.2 rebounds.

American (19-11) earned the conference tournament's top seed and the PL Regular Season Championship with a 10-4 League record this season. The Eagles, who entered the final day of play tied with Navy at the top of the standings, won the regular season title on the final day of the season with an 84-72 win over Lafayette coupled with a 73-62 Midshipmen loss at Colgate. AU reached the top of the standings by winning seven of its last eight games after beginning conference play 3-3.

Army played their way into PL Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday with a 64-61 overtime victory at Lehigh. In the game the Black Knights saw their 28-20 halftime lead slip away after the break and went down by as many as three points in the overtime period. Army took the lead for good though, 62-61, on a jumper by Cleveland Richard, the team's only field goal of overtime, with 1:02 remaining. Josh Miller led all scorers with 25 points and nine rebounds while Jarell Brown added 13. Army (14-15) was tabbed as the fifth seed in the tournament with a 6-8 conference record this season. After starting their conference slate 4-4, the Black Knights dropped four-consecutive games in February and fell out of the running for the PL regular season title. Army has bounced back though, winning three in a row. Brown is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game, and shoots 41 percent from behind the arc. Army's second leading scorer, Miller, averages 8.3 points and 4.0 assists per.

 

Brian Gilmore scored 10 points Wednesday including a three-point play with 18 seconds left to win the game for AU

American swept the season series with Army, taking a 66-53 contest in West Point, N.Y., and a 49-40 affair at Bender. AU received 17 points from Carr and 16 from Gilmore in the team's first meeting with the Black Knights and held Army to just 17 of 44 (38.6%) shooting from the floor. Carr was the only Eagle to reach double figures in the rematch and scored a game-high 16 points for AU as American's defense again plagued the Black Knights offense and allowed Army to score on just 16 of 46 (34.8%) shots.

Tickets to Sunday's PL Tournament Semifinal game between American and Army are still on sale. Tickets are priced at $12 for adults and $6 for seniors and youth. Admission is free for students with a valid AU ID. To purchase your tickets, call (202) 885-TIXX or click here.

Can't make it to Bender Arena on Sunday? Eagles fans can also catch all of the action live from home over the internet via a subscription to Eagle Vision All*Access. Click here to sign up today.