Another Confidence Boost for American
WASHINGTON – We’re not sure what to call it – a tale of two halves, a wild game, back-and-forth. None seem particularly accurate.
One thing is for sure, though: American’s 74-70 win over Towson on Saturday looks like a microcosm of their first eight games. It started slowly, but eventually they started to have some success at the offensive end and that helped lead to a good result.
“This is a heck of a win for us,” American head coach Jeff Jones said. “Given how our season has gone thus far, it’s especially nice.”
The Eagles (2-6) started the game slowly as Towson was hot offensively and their zone stifled the Eagles’ offense. The Tigers scored the game’s first ten points and ran out to a 25-16 lead, making ten of their first 16 shots. Meanwhile, American’s offense didn’t get many good shots against the zone, often taking shots early in the possession after the first or second pass. Then freshman shooter Garrison Carr came into the game.
Carr, who entered the game averaging points per game, came in and started making three-pointers. He came in before the Tigers’ 25-16 edge, but helped chip away with his shooting as he had 14 points in the half, including 4-7 from three-point land. The Eagles would then take the lead late in the half when Andre Ingram (15 points) scored his only three points of the half on a jumper from long range.
“I really think getting Garrison in there, and he made the first shot right away, that gave the other guys a lift,” said Jones. “Finally, we started competing a bit instead of being so tentative.”
The Eagles’ offense had plenty of life in the second half, as Ingram came alive and they shot 50 percent after struggling in the first half. They also showed more patience, not going for shots after just the first or second pass against the 2-3 zone defense employed by the Tigers. A 16-6 run gave the Eagles a 58-41 lead, but the Tigers (3-4) made some runs to stay within striking distance. Nine unanswered Tiger points would make it 63-58, then they got within 70-68 with 1:52 left after Mark Pratt (18 points, including 4-5 from three-point range) made consecutive three-pointers.
With the win, the Eagles have now won two straight after starting the season with six straight losses. They played plenty of good teams, all on the road – Washington, Wagner, Ohio and George Mason among them – but six losses is six losses and this is a young team whose upperclassmen are relatively inexperienced. It certainly gives them a confidence boost that should help them going forward.
“Being able to put two in a row together is big for this team,” said Jones. “I think winning is always good for your confidence, and especially winning tough games.”
Notes
- The Eagles lack size in addition to being inexperienced, but that will change soon. South Carolina transfer Paulius Joneliunas figures to start once he is eligible on December 23 and give them a post presence at both ends. He’s 6’11”, and with 6’10” leading scorer Brayden Billbe able to move to power forward, the Eagles will suddenly have one of the bigger frontcourts in the Patriot League.
- Towson head coach Pat Kennedy was pleased that his team made some strides, but they still have work to do. He was happy with their good start, as well as playing from behind later in the game, but that wasn’t enough.
- Towson senior forward Lawrence Hamm surpassed 1,000 career points in the second half.
