A week ago, the AU Men's Basketball team sat just one free throw away from tying Holy Cross atop the Patriot League standings.
How quickly things change.
Bucknell and Colgate combined to officially eliminate the Eagles from PL regular-season title contention during a two-game AU road trip this weekend.
With Holy Cross (19-5, 10-1 in the Patriot League) winning twice this weekend, AU (13-10, 6-5 PL) has no chance to stop the Crusaders and win the league title, trailing them by four games with only three to play.
The Eagles are tied for fourth with Colgate (11-13, 6-5), a game behind Lehigh and two behind Bucknell. AU must finish second in order to host first- and second-round games of the PL tournament.
After a devastating overtime defeat to Holy Cross on Feb. 6, where sophomore guard Andre Ingram missed a foul shot with four seconds left in regulation that would have probably won the game for AU, two road defeats this weekend may be too much to overcome.
Both games began similarly, with AU digging an early hole and never recovering. On Friday night, Bucknell devoured the Eagles, 65-52. Then on Sunday, Colgate doubled the damage, dropping a 67-57 defeat on AU. Each team avenged losses against the Eagles at Bender Arena in late January.
AU held the lead for just seven seconds all weekend, when it briefly jumped on top of the Raiders, 2-0, in Sunday's contest. After responding with a 9-0 spurt, Colgate led the rest of the afternoon.
A punishing 27-8 Raider run, which encompassed both halves and more than 10 minutes of clocked time, put AU out of reach. With 12:07 to play, the Eagles trailed 55-30.
Sophomore guard Andre Ingram led AU with 16 points, while senior forward Raimondas Petrauskas added 14.
Instability plagued AU, especially at the point guard spot. The starter, sophomore Linas Lekavicius, played only 13 minutes. Junior backup Ryan Graham played only 10. AU head coach Jeff Jones delved even deeper into his bench, to senior Craig Weinstein and sophomore Arvydas Eitutavicius, who played 17 and seven minutes, respectively.
Colgate guard Alvin Reed, who looked dangerous in the teams' previous meeting at AU but battled foul trouble, lacerated the AU defense this time around, leading all scorers with 17 points, while going 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Forward Andrew Zidar scored 14 points, and reserve guard Kyle Roemer added 10.
For AU, Sunday was simply more of the same after a Friday evening contest at Bucknell that for AU was just as difficult.
Led by guard Kevin Bettencourt's 20-point performance, the Bison jumped ahead of the Eagles early, 7-0, and never looked back.
After leading 35-22 at the half, Bucknell expanded the lead to 49-30 in front of 3,230 rowdy fans and a national audience on College Sports Television.
Unable to find many offensive options to pass to, Lekavicius, who started at the point guard spot, led the Eagles with 13 points.
AU shot only 3 of 16 from 3-point range, while Bucknell, thanks in part to Bettencourt's 5-of-6 3-point shooting, went 10 of 19. Bucknell also outrebounded AU, 35-25, a contrast to the teams' first meeting in Washington.
Guard Charles Lee scored 10 Bucknell points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while center Chris McNaughton added 11 points.
The Eagles stay on the road this weekend with a Saturday trip to Lafayette. Tip-off time is 1 p.m.
