Web Update Posted Friday, March 14 at 10:30 p.m.
It may have been 81 years in the making, but the men's basketball team can finally wear Cinderella's glass slipper to the Big Dance as they head to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in school history.
Students, alumni and fans of all ages rushed the court to join the team in a wild celebration following an emotional 52-46 victory over the Colgate University Red Raiders today to give the team their first Patriot League tournament title.
Following the game, AU head coach Jeff Jones said he was happy, not only for himself but also for the thousands of people watching the team strive toward the tournament.
"I'm happy for so many people," Jones said. "I could list so many guys who have waited so long and endured a lot of disappointment. It's great to know they can watch on Sunday and feel a sense of pride to be in [the tournament]."
The game, which played out in front of a sellout Bender Arena crowd and a national television audience on ESPN2, started slowly for both squads. Each team scored only six points apiece before the first media timeout.
Junior guard Garrison Carr, the league tournament MVP, would give AU its biggest lead of the first half coming out of the timeout, scoring seven straight points to push the score to 13-6.
The Raiders soon answered with a run of their own, taking the lead for the first time at the 5:53 mark with the score reading 18-17 in Colgate's favor.
The two teams remained neck and neck entering the break, with AU clinging to a 27-24 advantage heading into halftime.
The lead would not last long, as Colgate came into the second half strong, taking hold of the game again at the 14:34 mark with a 30-29 lead.
Back-to-back buckets by Carr and junior guard Nick Hendra put the Eagles back in front 34-30 with 13:33 to go. This would be the last time AU had the lead until late in the game, as Colgate took control, leading 40-39 with six minutes to go in the game.
The Eagles were down by one point with less than two minutes remaining when junior forward Jordan Nichols sent the crowd into a frenzy with a lay-up, giving the Eagles a 47-46 lead.
AU never looked back, taking advantage of missed Colgate shots to build the advantage to a final score of 52-46.
Speaking at a post-game press conference, junior forward Brian Gilmore was thankful that with the victory, he will have some company to watch Selection Sunday on ESPN this year.
"I'm glad that we are not going to be watching [the selection show] from our own houses on spring break," Gilmore said. "It was great seeing the fans so happy. Knowing that we'll have an opportunity to play a game in the NCAA Tournament is an unbelievable feeling."
With the victory, the Eagles will now wait until Sunday to find out who their first round opponent will be. Associate Athletic Director Athena Argyropoulos said there would be a large screen showing the ESPN Selection Show in the Tavern Sunday night.
AU President Neil Kerwin, a university alumnus and longtime basketball fan summed the situation up in his remarks during a pre-game rally outside Bender Arena.
"We are going to close one chapter in AU basketball history and open another one," Kerwin said.
