The AU men’s basketball team extended their losing streak to three games with a 75-74 double- overtime loss to Colgate University on Saturday and a 73-59 loss to Bucknell University on Thursday.
A layup by Colgate’s senior forward Ben Jonson with 34 seconds left in the second-half evened the score at 56 and sent Saturday’s game to overtime. Foul trouble affected both teams early in the first extra frame as they traded free throws. Neither team would allow the other one to build a significant lead until AU’s Vlad Moldoveanu hit a layup to make the score 64-60. Eagles forward Daniel Munoz followed up Moldoveanu’s points with two free throws, to build a six-point lead.
Despite the six point lead with only 36 seconds left, Colgate fought back and hit two threes that sandwiched Moldoveanu free throws. AU held a two-point lead with less than 10 seconds to go in OT when Moldoveanu turned the ball over and Colgate hit a jumper with no time on the clock to send it to double overtime.
Unlike the first overtime period, the Eagles were unable to gain a lead over the Raiders. After keeping the score close for the first four minutes, two free throws from Colgate sophomore Nick Pascale would give the Raiders a lead they would never relinquish. AU was able to pull within one with 16 seconds left, but a missed free throw by Nick Hendra kept the Raiders ahead by one.
The Eagles had a shot at the win with five seconds left, but Moldoveanu’s shot rattled off the rim.
Even though Moldoveanu missed the potential game winner, he was still AU’s best player. With 47 minutes of play-time, he totaled a double double with 30 points and 10 rebounds. AU sophomore Stephen Lumpkins also totaled a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Eagles yet again fell victim to a poor shooting percentage. As a team, they shot just over 40 percent from the field, but went 3-9 in overtime. Despite poor shooting from the floor, AU made 75 percent of their free throws including 12-13 in OT.
Saturday’s effort was very different than the one AU put on the floor last Thursday in Bender Arena. Fouls and missed shots allowed Bucknell to jump out to a quick 11-0 lead.
Strong play in the paint and from players off the bench allowed the Eagles to climb back into the game. Bucknell’s lead was cut to just three when the two teams headed to halftime.
Even though AU had late life in the first half, the beginning of the second half was much like the beginning of the first. Four missed shots, two turnovers and two fouls allowed Bucknell to build a 10-point lead and pushed the score to 37-27. AU would not decrease the Bison lead to less than four for the rest of the game.
Four Bison would put up double-digit points, including Joe Willman who had 15, Bryson Johnson and Mike Muscala who both had 14 and Patrick Behan who had 13. For the game, Bucknell did not have a very good shooting percentage, hitting less than half of their shots. The Eagles essentially handed Bucknell points by giving them 32 free throw attempts, of which Bucknell hit 26.
AU’s best player was Hendra who scored 19 points in his first game back from suspension. Five of his six total baskets were three pointers, the best mark on the team.
A major key to Colgate’s double-digit victory was their ability to limit Moldoveanu. In 25 minutes of playtime, Moldoveanu scored just two points on 1-7 shooting. Moldoveanu has been AU’s best player since he joined the team.
The two losses drop AU to 4-6 in Patriot League play and 7-18 overall. It was the team’s third straight loss after jumping out to a 4-3 start in the league play. After being in contention for the top spot in the league just two weeks ago, AU is now tied for second to last. They will play their next game Wednesday against Army in Bender Arena.
You can reach this staff writer at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.
