Despite trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, AU fought back to earn a tough 55-44 road victory against the Loyola of Maryland Greyhounds on Wednesday night.
The Eagles rallied after playing from behind for the entire first half to take a slim one-point halftime lead. They carried their momentum into the second half, and surged ahead to dispatch of the Greyhounds for the second time this season.
AU defeated Loyola Jan. 7 at Bender Arena 62-50 in their first meeting, behind a strong first-half run.
The Eagles (14-8, 9-2 PL) used a quick 9-3 run to start the second half in Baltimore to build a comfortable lead and held the Greyhounds (6-16, 4-7 PL) to four points in the first 12:30 of the second half. Despite having their lead cut to six with two and a half minutes to play, the Eagles withstood the Loyola rally and held on for the victory.
Senior guard Jen Dumiak recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while also dishing out six assists. Junior forward Michelle Holmes also posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and senior forward Arron Zimmerman tallied 14 points seven rebounds for the Eagles.
AU started the game slowly and trailed 10-2, after making only one of their first seven field goal attempts and committing five turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes. The Eagles chipped away at the deficit and finally took the lead when Zimmerman converted a lay-up on the final play of the half to give AU its first lead at 23-22.
The Eagles roared out of halftime and opened up a fifteen point lead behind the offensive prowess of the Holmes, Dumiak, and Zimmerman. After AU took a 42-27 lead, the Greyhounds fought back with a comeback attempt of their own, drawing within six, but it proved too-little too-late for Loyola, and the Eagles emerged victorious to retain their one-game lead over Army atop the Patriot League standings.
AU’s defense stifled the Greyhounds for most of the night, holding Loyola to a shooting percentage of 26.2 for the game. The Eagles have held opponents below 50 points in each of their last four Patriot League victories. Despite a low shooting percentage, Loyola was able to remain in the game by prospering off of Eagle miscues, scoring 22 points off of 20 AU turnovers. The Eagles outrebounded the Greyhounds 45-to-35 and shot 43.5 percent (20-for-47) from the field for the game.
The Eagles return to Bender Arena on Saturday Feb. 7 to face Colgate at 2 p.m. AU previously topped the Raiders 66-58 on the road in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 10.
