The AU men’s basketball team was unable to catch Brown University in the second half as the Eagles dropped 72-67 on Dec. 7 at Bender Arena. This loss snapped the Eagles’ two game winning streak.
AU found themselves down 39-27 at halftime partly due to nine turnovers. Brown made the Eagles pay for their mistakes, converting 12 points off the Eagle turnovers. The Bears’ offense showed balance, illustrating the ability to score close to the basket as well as going 3-5 from beyond the arc and shooting 57.7 percent overall.
“We came out in the first half not ready to play,” junior guard John Schoof said about his teams first half struggles. “We made a strong half, in the second half, but it has to be there for all 40 minutes.”
The Eagles opened the second half on a 16-7 run, cutting the Bears lead to one on two separate occasions on the run. First sophomore guard Marco Vasic converted a successful three point play after he was fouled on a layup making the game 43-42. Following a three pointer from Brown’s Rafael Maia, Vasic hit a three of his own to make it a 46-45 game.
Things began to take a turn for the worse for the Eagles shortly after Vasic’s score when senior center Tony Wroblicky picked up two fouls in just six seconds. This put his total at four and forced head coach Mike Brennan to put in freshman Yilret Yiljep.
Brown began to pull away from the Eagles following the substitution, leading by as many as nine on two separate occasions.
The Eagles would not give up going on a 10-2 run capped off by a three from Schoof cut the lead to one with 8:07 left in the game.
Once again the Bears would respond by expanding their lead when Sean McGonagill hit a three putting Brown up by seven.
AU started to wear into the Brown lead and make it a one possession game in the final minutes of regulation. After freshman Charlie Jones hit two free throws making it a two possession game, Brown missed four consecutive shots, including two free throws, giving AU a chance to tie or go ahead.
Schoof missed a three pointer with just 17 seconds left in the game. The missed shot would be grabbed by Brown’s Cedric Kuakumensah who was fouled by Jones and hit both his free throws, putting the Bears up by four, effectively ending the game.
“We just have to keep working,” Brennan said after the game. “We battled back, so that’s an improvement there. We just have to capitalize.”
Schoof led the Eagles in scoring with 15. AU received a strong offensive performance off the bench with Vasic and Yiljep recording 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Rafael Maia led the Bears in scoring with 14 points.
The Eagles will begin a five game road trip starting with a matchup Dec. 19 against St. Mary’s (Cal.).
