Arvydas Eitutavicius led the Eagles with 24 points, including 16 in the second half, to help the Eagles force overtime, but Holy Cross hit eight of nine free throws in the extra period to escape Bender Arena with a 69-64 victory on Saturday.
The Crusaders quickly grabbed a four-point lead in overtime, however the Eagles fought back to tie the game at 62 with a little over a minute remaining. Pat Doherty hit a lay-up with 47 seconds to give Holy Cross the lead for good.
The Eagles got the ball back with 14 seconds back down three points, but Eitutavicius chose to drive to the basket instead of forcing a game-tying try. He lost control of the ball on the way to the hoop and missed a lay-up. Keith Simmons hit both of his free throws to ice the victory for the Crusaders.
"Had he kept his balance, we would have been down one with about six seconds left," said Coach Jeff Jones. "If there had been a few seconds less, we would have had to go for the three."
The loss drops the Eagles to 1-4 in Patriot League play, while Holy Cross remains undefeated.
"It was an extremely emotional game and it hurts," said player Andre Ingram. "Even in losing, we have a chance to build on it. We can't be dejected by this loss."
Both teams played a sloppy first half, combining to commit 22 turnovers. There were eight lead changes in the half, however AU managed just two free throws by Paulius Joneliunas in the last five minutes of the half and trailed by five points at the half.
Holy Cross came out of the break on fire, scoring on their first three possessions to take a seven point lead. However, back-to-back three pointers by Derrick Mercer and Ingram quickly cut the lead to one and kept the Crusaders from pulling away. AU trailed by as many as seven with six minutes remaining, but managed to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by Eitutavicius. After Doherty missed a three-pointer, the Eagles had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a buzzer-beater by Eitutavicius bounced off the rim.
Holy Cross dominated in the paint throughout the game, outscoring AU 38-14, lead by Tim Clifford's 19 points and nine rebounds. The Crusaders also capitalized on AU's mistakes, scoring 21 points off of turnovers and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. Ingram finished with 14 points for the Eagles, while Mercer scored 11 and dished out five assists.
Simmons, the PL's leading scorer, managed 14 points for the Crusaders; however, six of those points came off of free throws in overtime. Simmons shot just three of ten from the field in 42 minutes.
"Simmons was a big priority for us and I thought Andre did an outstanding job," said Jones.
Another bright spot for the Eagles was the attendance at the annual "Phil Bender" game. A record 4,775 fans filled not only the student section behind the benches, but also the bleachers on each end of the court.
"The crowd was awesome, and it really got the team pumped," Eitutavicius said. "It had the feel of a big-time NCAA crowd."
The Eagles return to action on Wednesday night at home against Navy, where they will look to climb back into the PL race.
Hoop Notes: AU lost despite shooting almost 44 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for Holy Cross.Sophomore forward Brian Gilmore did not play for the Eagles, despite averaging almost 13 minutes a game for AU this season.Two AU students had an opportunity to win a brand new car during half time, however neither student succeeded.
