What was expected to be close, hotly contested game between the two remaining undefeated Patriot League teams for first place was a slam dunk as the AU men’s basketball team pulled off a shocking 86-56 win against Boston University on Jan. 22.
The win propels AU to sole possession of first place in the Patriot League standings.
The Eagles (11-7, 7-0 PL) finished the game shooting 30 for 42 as a team with junior guard Darius Gardner leading with 20 points.
“I guess it just felt good,” Gardner said of his team’s shooting performance. “We knocked down a couple of shots, got our confidence up and we kept making them.”
The game also showcased excellent teamwork and chemistry among the Eagles, with the team connecting on 22 assists.
“I can definitely feel our chemistry grow,” sophomore Jesse Reed said. “We’re around each other every day. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
The Eagles were shut out by the Terriers (13-7, PL 6-1), which went on a 7-0 run to open the contest. But soon the Eagles found their form.
After being down 13-2, the Eagles went on a 12-point run capped off from a layup from Reed on a fast break to give the Eagles a one point lead.
“It was my fault in the beginning because once in a while we want to run a couple of scripted plays and our guy’s strength is just playing around with each other,” Eagles head coach Mike Brennan said about the slow start.
In the first half alone, Gardner drained three 3-pointers and the Eagles scored almost half of their points from shots outside the arc, going 11 for 14. The first half ended with the Eagles leading by a score of 37-29.
In the second half, the Eagles started to pull away even further. The Eagles found ways to attack BU down low with Gardner, sophomore guard Marco Vasic and junior guard John Schoof each scoring from inside the paint to steadily grow the team’s lead.
The Terriers did make some good plays and were able to take advantage of mistakes by the Eagles, but the AU defense held BU players to just of 16-of-50 from the field.
“(BU) is a very solid team and for us to play the way that we did is great,” Brennan said about the victory.
The Eagles look to keep their perfect Patriot League record Jan. 25 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
