Eagles hit 10 of 15 from the arc, hold off late Mids rally
Losing four starters, including 6-9 Vlad Moldoveanu to graduation and 6-8 Stephen Lumpkins to the major league baseball draft, required American University to take its offense to the perimeter. So far, the Eagles are adapting nicely.
Still, with four guards in the starting lineup, nothing comes easy.
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After building a 25-point lead early in the second half Wednesday night at Navy, AU needed four free throws in the final 66 seconds from Daniel Munoz to subdue a furious rally by the Midshipmen, 67-60, before 1,666 at Alumni Hall.
With Charles Hinkle (17 points, 10 rebounds), Munoz (13 points, seven assists) , and Troy Brewer (11 points) leading an offense that hit 10 of 15 shots from beyond the arc, American (12-7, 3-1) remained tied for second in the Patriot League, with just one fewer win overall than last season, a significant accomplishment considering it was picked to finish fifth in the conference in the preseason.
Afterward, AU coach Jeff Jones was in no mood to celebrate the Eagles’ success. He was irked that AU blew nearly all of its big lead. Down 64-60 with 55 seconds left, Navy had two chances to cut the lead further, but made two turnovers, 22 seconds apart.
“When Navy kind of stood up and didn’t go away, I don’t like the way we responded,” Jones said. “The fact we had 15 tiurnovers, we had some of the dumbest turnovers I think I’ve seen this year.”
In losing for the 11th straight time, Navy (3-15, 0-4) rallied behind 6-foot-7 sophomore J.J. Avila (24 points, six steals), who played all 40 minutes, and reserve freshman guard Brandon Venturini (10 points, three assists, two steals). After failing to score in the first 15 minutes, senior guard Jordan Sugars (11 points) ignited the comeback with six straight points. Later in the half, Navy reeled off 11 straight points to cut the deficit to single digits.
The Navy comeback was fuled by aggressive defense, which produced 11 turnovers and 19 points off them in the second half.
“If we can put together a whole game like we played the second half tonight, we’ll be tough,” Venturini said.
AU took control of the game early. Sophomore Blake Jolivette (nine points) scored seven points on three straight possessions during a 9-0 run that gave AU the lead for good, 20-11. Later in the half, Hinkle hit two 3-pointers, Brewer made one, and 6-11 senior Riley Grafft added a 3-point-play as the Eagles grabbed a 38-22 lead.
The advantage swelled as AU reeled off 11 straight points early in the second half, with Hinkle, Brewer, and freshman John Schoof making 3-pointers. For the night, Hinkle hit four of six from beyond the arc while Brewer made three of four. Both of the senior guards also hit 3-pointers in the final five minutes, helping keep AU in command.
Yielding 3-pointers has been particularly costly for Navy. In a loss Saturday to Army, the Black Knights hit 13 of 23 from beyond the arc.
“Same kind of woes. We let people shoot the deep shot from the floor,” Navy coach Ed DeChellis said. “You just can’t let people shoot 60 percent from the three for Godsakes.”
At the end, Munoz was true at the free throw line. He was nearly perfect on the night, hitting all four of his charity tosses and four of five from the floor.
“We’re thrilled with the win, don’t get me wrong,” Jones said. “But to finish the game that way, it leaves a bad taste. We have to be better than that. We have to be smarter than that.”
After a game against visiting Army on Saturday, AU has its toughest week in the Patriot League with games at league-leading Bucknell (14-6, 4-0) and Lafayette (7-11, 2-1). Both teams will see a much different AU squad than they’ve faced the previous two years.
“We went from wanting to throw the ball [inside] a lot, to a lot more more perimeter-oriented,” Munoz, a junior, said. “I think we’re still adjusting. I don’t think we get the easy baskets we got last year. Maybe that’s part of the reason we go into some lulls like we did this game.”
