Clutch Shot By Ingram Lifts American

With the score tied and time running out, American appeared on the brink of letting another game slip away. The Eagles had squandered a six-point lead in the final 30 seconds, but had possession with a chance to win. Andre Ingram got the ball, nearly lost it, then sank a jump shot from the right wing with one second remaining to lift the Eagles to a 76-74 victory over Lafayette at Bender Arena yesterday before 1,476.

"We used up a nice portion of our good fortune for the season in that last sequence," American Coach Jeff Jones said. "In the meat of the game, I thought we did quite a few good things. We desperately need to learn how to finish a team off."

American (9-6, 2-1 Patriot League), which won its third consecutive game, remained tied for third place in the league standings. Lafayette (5-10, 1-2) fell into fifth place.

Ingram finished with 20 points and was one of four players to score in double figures for the Eagles. Sean Knitter had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Lafayette.

American was ahead 74-68 with 43 seconds remaining. After Marcus Harley sank back-to-back jump shots and the Eagles failed to score at the free throw line, Jason Thomas (15 points) lost the ball when Bilal Abdullah poked it away. Paul Cummins picked it up, drove to the basket and was fouled by Matej Cresnik as he made the layup to tie the score at 74. With the chance to give Lafayette its first lead of the second half, Cummins, a freshman, missed his free throw short. Cresnik grabbed the rebound, leaving American with 14 seconds to score.

With time ticking away, Ingram got the ball near American's bench. Raimonda Petrauskas came up to set a screen, leaving the baseline open. As Ingram hesitated between driving to the basket or taking a jump shot, his defender knocked the ball out of his hands. Ingram picked it up and shot it. The ball swished through the net, securing the Eagles' victory.

"Once I lost the ball, I was focused on not letting them get the ball back," Ingram said. "The way I shot it I thought I had enough space to make it, but when I let it go, honestly, I thought it was way long."

• VIRGINIA TECH 59, CLEMSON 57: Carlos Dixon hit a breakaway dunk with 6.9 seconds to play to give the host Hokies their first ACC win. Dixon stole the ball from Vernon Hamilton with 12 seconds left and broke free to score the winning basket for Virginia Tech (8-6, 1-2). Zabian Dowdell led the Hokies with 15 points. The Tigers are 10-6, 1-3.

• OLD DOMINION 71, GEORGE MASON 58: Alex Loughton scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Monarchs won in Norfolk. ODU improved to 15-2, 5-0 Colonial Athletic Association. Will Thomas led the Patriots (7-7, 2-3) with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Jai Lewis added 11 points.

• SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 77, HOWARD 60: Brian Mason scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (8-7, 2-3) to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory in Orangeburg, S.C. Cliffone Ault was the only play for the Bison (5-8, 2-2) to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 28 points.

• LEHIGH 72, NAVY 67: Joe Knight scored 25 points to lead the Mountain Hawks to victory in Annapolis. Lehigh improved to 9-7, 3-0 in the Patriot League. Navy is 4-11, 0-3.