March 14, 2008
Box Score
2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship Game Quote Sheet
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2008 Men's Basketball Championship Page
Washington, D.C. - No. 1 seed American scored the final seven points of the game to knock off No. 3 seed Colgate, 52-46, in the Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship game on Friday at Bender Arena. The Eagles win their first Patriot League Championship, and advance to the NCAA Division I Championship for the first time in school history.
Colgate took a 46-45 lead in a back-and-forth game on a three-pointer by Kyle Roemer with 2:24 to go. The Eagles answered with the eventual game-winning basket on the other end, as Jordan Nichols scored in the lane with 1:56 left to make it 47-46 for American. Colgate had a pair of shots to re-gain the lead, but Daniel Waddy missed a running layup with 1:43 to play and a jumper with 41 seconds left.
The Eagles extended the lead to 49-46 on a pair of free throws by Brian Gilmore with 31 seconds left. Colgate had one more possession with a chance to tie the score, but Gilmore forced a turnover with 20 seconds to go. Derrick Mercer was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and nailed a pair of free throws to give the Eagles a five-point edge, and Gilmore sealed the 52-46 score with one more free throw with three seconds to go.
"I think we just gutted it out in the end," said American Head Coach Jeff Jones. "I think Gilmore had some big hustle plays down the stretch, and it was a case of our guys being alert and trying to find ways to win in a game where neither team was really an offensive juggernaut."
American moves to 21-11 overall for the season, and will wait to hear its NCAA fate when the Men's Basketball Championship brackets are announced on Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS. The Eagles will go to the postseason for the first time since playing in the NIT in 1982. They were 10-4 in Patriot League play. Colgate falls to 18-14 overall, and finished 7-7 in the League.
The Eagles took a 27-24 lead into the break, but Colgate rallied to take a 30-29 edge with 14:34 left. The Eagles scored the next five points to re-gain the lead, but the Raiders notched eight points in a row to claim their biggest lead of the game at 38-34 with 9:22 left.
American got back to within one point on a three-pointer by Garrison Carr, who led the Eagles with 17 points in the game and earned 2008 Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. The Eagles went back ahead at 41-40 with 5:22 to go on a pair of free throws by Gilmore, and there were four lead changes and a tie from that point until American took the lead for good on Nichols' shot.
"When they went up four, we just ran back down the floor like it was the first bucket of the game," said Carr. "It was difficult to get shots up all game, but we were very prepared to counter against their tough defense. I did get a few good looks, but the team stepped up around me and we proved tonight that we were the better team."
The contest featured eight ties and 12 lead changes, with the first half playing out in similar back-and-forth fashion. American opened up a 15-9 lead with 9:28 to go in the stanza, but the Raiders rallied to tie it at 20 with 4:27 on the clock and neither team led by more than the 27-24 advantage the Eagles took to the break after that point.
"I'm so proud of these guys here for what they have accomplished this year," said Colgate Head Coach Emmett Davis. "It was a great college basketball game with a great atmosphere. Even if you walked in off the street and didn't know anything about Patriot League Basketball, you would have been impressed with the style of play and the level of athleticism displayed today."
The Eagles had a huge advantage in the turnover battle, as they forced 16 Colgate miscues and only committed five of their own. That helped American to a victory despite shooting 34 percent for the game, and just 6-for-25 in the second half. They also connected on 4-of-17 shots from three-point range, but were aided by a 12-for-17 effort at the foul line, including an 11-for-14 clip in the second half.
"I thought Colgate did a great job with mixing and changing defenses," said Jones. "One of the things we like to do is call special plays coming out of timeouts, but we knew after the first few minutes that we couldn't predict the type of defense that they were going to play. We were trying to get something other than jump shots, and Derrick (Mercer) wasn't having his best shooting game."
He added, "When you shoot that poorly and struggle to find a rhythym, you need those extra opportunities and that's why the garbage and putback baskets were so big for us."
Carr made 6-of-16 shots, and 3-of-7 three-pointers to finish one shy of the Tournament record with 12 three-pointers in American's wins over Holy Cross, Army and Colgate. Gilmore was the only other American player in double figures, scoring 11 points. The Eagles got seven points from Jordan Nichols and six from Nick Hendra, which gave them 24 points off the bench between the trio of Gilmore, Nichols and Hendra. Gilmore earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts.
Kyle Roemer led Colgate with 17 points, making 5-of-11 shots and 3-of-5 three-pointers. Roemer finished with 74 points in Colgate's Tournament games against Lafayette, Bucknell and American, just two off the record set by Navy's T.J. Hall in 1994. Alex Woodhouse had eight points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the Raiders, and was just one off the mark for rebounds in a Patriot League Championship game. Kendall Chones notched 13 points and six boards for the Raiders.
Roemer, Woodhouse and Chones all earned All-Tournament honors from Colgate. The last All-Tournament spot went to Army sophomore guard Josh Miller.
The Eagles are the 14th No. 1 seed in 18 seasons to win the Patriot League Championship, and the fifth in the last six years to do so. They earned their first Patriot League title in their fourth try after losing in the Championship contest in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Colgate was trying to become the first Patriot League team seeded No. 3 or lower to win the Championship. The Raiders were also in their fourth Championship game, and fell to 2-2 in title contests. It was Colgate's first title contest since winning the crown in 1996.
It was the lowest scoring Championship game in Patriot League Tournament history. Colgate's 46 points is the lowest in title game annals, while American's 52 is the fewest for a winning team.
2008 Patriot League All-Tournament Team
Kendall Chones, Colgate
Brian Gilmore, American
Josh Miller, Army
Kyle Roemer, Colgate
Alex Woodhouse, Colgate
2008 Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player
Garrison Carr, American
Game Notes
-American became the eighth Patriot League program, and seventh active member, to win the Championship. Only Army has not won the title.
-American won its seventh consecutive contest at home, the longest streak for a Patriot League team this season.
-The Raiders saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.
-American won its eighth consecutive game against Colgate, including all three this season. The Eagles have a 15-3 advantage in the all-time series, and have won all nine meetings at Bender Arena.
-American eliminated the Raiders from the Patriot League Tournament for the second year in a row after beating Colgate, 59-44, at Bender Arena in the 2007 quarterfinals.
-American also improved to 3-0 against the Raiders in Patriot League Tournament history.
-It was the sixth Championship contest between the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the Tournament, and the No. 1 seed has won every time.
-Home teams have a 13-4 record in Patriot League Championship games, with one contest played at a neutral site. Home squads have a 13-2 mark since 1994.
-American Head Coach Jeff Jones improved to 12-6 in Patriot League Tournament history.
-The contest was televised live on ESPN2 from a sold-out Bender Arena.
-Carr, who has shattered the previous Patriot League mark of 99 threes in a season, now has 129 three-pointers for the year.
-American had the previous low in points scored in a Championship game, as the Eagles had 54 in their loss in the 2002 title contest against Holy Cross.
-After they learn their fate on Sunday, the Eagles will play a first round game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday or Friday at a site and time to be determined.
