After a disappointing loss against Loyola Maryland, the Eagles bounced back against the previously undefeated Colgate Raiders 71-69 in double overtime on Jan. 10. AU fought through a nail-biting thriller where the lead went back and forth 13 times in 50 minutes. The game marked the first time the Eagles surmounted 70 points in a single game this season.
Five observations from the critical win:
1. Darius “Pee Wee” Gardner comes up big again
In his two years at AU, 5’9 senior guard Darius “Pee Wee” Gardner has had a flare for the dramatic. On Dec. 20, he hit a game winning layup with half a second left against Mount St. Mary’s to bring AU back from behind to take the win. Pee Wee once again played like the biggest man on the court against Colgate. Down by four points with only 13 seconds left in regulation, Gardner hit a three-point shot to bring the Eagles within one point of the Raiders. After Colgate converted on one of two free throws, Gardner sank a clutch layup with three seconds left to send the game into overtime. While “Pee Wee” is only third on the team in scoring with 10.8 points a game behind Jesse Reed and John Schoof, his poise and ability to get to the rim has made him the unofficial go-to-guy in tight situations.
2. The re-establishment of Kevin Panzer
After missing six games due to a foot injury and illness, senior forward Kevin Panzer had his best game since returning in the game against Holy Cross. In his first two games back against Holy Cross and Loyola, Panzer played a combined 22 minutes and scored just three points. Against Colgate, however, Panzer played 32 minutes and while scoring just seven points, he hit a huge three-point shot in the first overtime to give AU a brief one point lead. The Eagles missed Panzer during his injury, as he adds experience, long range shooting, and most importantly, front court depth to a team that has a very thin front line. Panzer is still working his way back into shape, but his big play against Colgate will hopefully be a positive sign of things to come.
3. Expanding the rotation
Head coach Mike Brennan is known for keeping a very tight rotation. Schoof, Reed and Gardner lead the country in minutes played per game. On Jan. 10, Reed and Schoof played the entire 50 minutes, while Gardner sat out eight minutes due to foul trouble. However, while Brennan has kept his rotation as tight as six players, he opened things up a bit against Colgate. Sophomore Jalen Rhea, who usually only comes in if there is foul trouble, got some meaningful minutes on Jan. 10. Unfortunately, Rhea picked up two quick fouls himself and was forced to head back to the bench for the rest of the game. Sophomore guard Justice Montgomery also played in the first half after Gardner picked up his second foul. Like Rhea however, Montgomery went back to the bench after bloodying his lip, and, like Rhea, he didn’t see any more time for the remainder of the game. Going forward, it will be interesting to see if Brennan continues to use players like Rhea and Montgomery to give the starters a little bit of rest. It’s a long season and expanding the rotation will not only give the stars more rest but also help to give the role players more confidence moving forward.
4. AU’s dependence on three pointers.
“Live by the three, die by the three” is a common saying in basketball and the 2014-2015 AU team embodies the phrase. AU is a team that loves to shoot three-pointers and while there are many great shooters on the team, some nights the shots simply don’t fall. The Eagles fell to Loyola on Jan. 7, after shooting a mere 3-15 from beyond the arc, and even in their close win over Holly Cross, AU hit only two out of 12 three-point shots. Against Colgate, however, AU found the net with greater consistency, hitting 8-19 three-point shots. All in all, the Eagles rely heavily on the three ball with teams more accustomed to defending the princeton offense and not letting up backdoor cuts. If AU wants to repeat its success from last season, the three-point shot will need to be there on a consistent basis.
5. The balance of the Patriot League
If anybody knows about surprises and upsets, it’s AU, after being picked ninth in the Patriot League last year and ultimately winning the tournament. This year may be even more unpredictable with an incredibly balanced league and no true favorite. AU, who was projected to finish first, has struggled to find consistency and currently sits at 2-2. Meanwhile, Colgate, who was projected to finish eighth, was the last team to lose a conference game and sits atop the conference in a three way tie for first with a 3-1 record. The Patriot League is the only Division 1 Conference in college basketball that does not have an undefeated team or a winless team in conference play. This is a very wide-open league where anybody can beat anybody on any given day, no matter if they are home or away. The Patriot League is not as top-heavy as it was last year and AU will have its work cut out for them if they want to make it back to the NCAA tournament. The Eagles look to get over the .500 mark in conference play for the first time this season against Lehigh on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Bender Arena.
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