After two consecutive road losses, the AU men’s basketball team returned to Bender Arena to outrun the Lafayette Leopards 88-77.
The score represents a season high for the Eagles, easily surmounting their previous record of 78 points this year from January when they defeated Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania.
After letting up a three-point shot just six seconds into the game, the Eagles (14-12, 7-7 PL) took off and never looked backed. A jumper from senior guard Darius “Pee-Wee” Gardner put the Eagles up 4-3 with 17:15 left in the first half, and AU held the lead the remainder of the game. The Eagles led by as many as 19 points and went into halftime up by 12.
The Leopards (14-11, 6-8 PL) attempted to make a late second-half push when senior Seth Hinrichs hit a three-pointer to bring the Leopards within eight points with 5:20 remaining in the game. However, Lafayette failed to close the gap any further resorting to fouling the Eagles every opportunity with 2:30 minutes left in the game. Strong late-game execution and success on the free throw line ultimately propelled AU to victory.
Senior guard John Schoof led the Eagles with a season high of 23 points, including six three-pointers to go along with five rebounds and two assists. After scoring just 18 points in his past two games, junior guard Jesse Reed regained his rhythm against Lafayette with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting and six rebounds. Gardner also chipped in with 20 points and two steals.
Head coach Mike Brennan employed a one-man bench tonight, switching Panzer and junior forward Marko Vasic in and out. Panzer continues on his hot streak scoring 15 points, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out a game high seven assists.
With the NBA Three Point Shootout later tonight, it was only fitting that both teams were on fire from beyond the arc. Lafayette went 13-for-23 from three-point range, led by junior Bryce Scott who hit his first seven three pointers. For the Eagles, seniors Kevin Panzer, Schoof and Gardner hit 12 three-pointers as AU went 13-for-24 from downtown.
“I’m glad we were able to make shots,” Brennan said. “We played well offensively, but our defense wasn’t great.”
While AU struggled to defend the three point line, they successfully stopped Lafayettes leading scorer, Dan Trist, from stealing the game. Trist, who averages 17.8 points per game on 12.5 shots, was held to just 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Trist also struggled at the free-throw line where he went 4-for-9.
“We did a lot of switching early on in the game,” Shoof said. “We didn’t guard the three-point line well, but we didn’t let them get anything down low.”
Junior center Zach Elcano, who has been out since Jan. 21 with an ankle injury, has been cleared to remove his walking boot and resume basketball activities, according to Brennan.
“He still feels some pain but when we need him he’ll be ready to go,” Brennan said.
With this win, the Eagles enter a two way tie for fourth place with Boston University in the Patriot League. The Eagles play Boston on Feb. 18 at home, where AU is 7-1. The Eagles are now one game back of third-place Lehigh and two and a half games behind first place Bucknell.
“Teams are very well matched in the Patriot League,” Brennan said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day.”
sports@theeagleonline.com
