Everyone knew Garrison Carr was known for his shot in high school. It was only in Saturday's men's basketball game against Towson that they found out just how good his shot can be.
The freshman guard cruised to a career-high 25 points and made six of AU's record 15 3-pointers in a 74-70 win over the Tigers at Bender Arena.
It wasn't just how many points Carr scored, but when he scored them that mattered to the Eagles (2-6). The Tigers (3-4) pounced on a 10-0 run to start the game, but Carr drained two unanswered 3-pointers to stave off what could have been an ugly rout.
"We just needed to shake out of it," AU coach Jeff Jones said. "I really think [it was] getting Garrison in there. He made his first shot right away. I think that gave the other guys a lift."
The Tigers' defense may have not have noticed him at first. His first shot was wide-open, but by the end Towson always had a man on him. The added pressure didn't stop him and he was even able to draw a foul for a three-point play on the free-throw line in the second half.
"When you're on the court, they have to respect your game," Carr said, "or [you] make them pay."
And making defenses pay is the whole strategy of the AU's guard-oriented offense. Carr's play loosened the game up for his partners on the perimeter.
"He hit so many so early, they ended up [putting] a box and one on him," junior Andre Ingram said. "It left people like me and Arvydas [Eitutivicius] wide-open for 3's. We were able to knock them done."
Ingram broke out of a recent slump, scoring 15 points, the most he's had since the opening game at Washington. He snared the first of his five 3-pointers on a dish from Carr to give AU a 32-31 lead at the half, which it never relented.
After losing their first six games of the season by an average of 21 points, the Eagles will take a win any way they can. Never mind their winning streak is at a modest two games - at least they know what it's like to win.
"Being able to put to in a row together is big for this team," Jones said. "Other people might say, 'Eh, two in a row.' But for us, we needed it. And we need Monday's game against Howard. Badly."
AU also cracked Towson's defense in the second half, facing a zone almost the whole game for this first time this season. The Tigers' beefy forward trio of Dennard Abraham, Lawrence Hamm and Marc Pratt overmatched the Eagles at first, but Eagles managed to produce in the paint by the end.
"They did a good job picking the zone apart," Towson coach Pat Kennedy said. "They found openings and had patience."
The Eagles' lead grew to 17 points midway through the second half as they continued firing from 3-point range.
The Tigers still mounted two late comebacks, first pulling within five after Hamm scored six of his team-high 20 points in an 8-0 run with just over six minutes left. Pratt then scored eight of his 18 points in a 10-2 run ending with a minute left. But Brayden Billbe tapped in a layup and Towson missed on its last possession, leaving AU point guard Derrick Mercer to run out the clock.
