Eagles Extend Streak At Bison's Expense

Surveying his basketball team last Monday night after its sixth consecutive loss, American Coach Jeff Jones saw a group of players who were depressed and "down in the dumps."

But the next day yielded a fierce and physical practice. The day after that brought the Eagles' first win of the season. A few days later, they had a two-game winning streak. And last night, the streak became three, as American outlasted visiting Howard, 72-60, in front of an announced crowd of 1,215 at Bender Arena.

The Eagles (3-6) trailed by 10 in the first half last night. Their rotation is still inexperienced: two freshmen started and two more received minutes off the bench. They committed 19 turnovers, with several coming as they attempted to preserve their lead late in the game.

But they continued to distance themselves from the 0-6 start, which bottomed out with a 40-point loss to George Mason in last Monday's BB&T Classic.

"It got past frustrating at one point; it was just more confusion," said Andre Ingram, who scored a game-high 21 points last night. "It was like, we're doing the right things, we're working hard, and we just keep losing. So we just kept knocking on that door, kept fighting, kept pushing."

Ingram's reemergence has coincided with the winning streak. The 6-foot-3 junior guard failed to reach double digits in three of the Eagles' six losses after leading the team in scoring the past two seasons. He's averaged more than 16 points in the team's three wins, and made 4 of 8 three-point attempts last night.

And Ingram received help throughout an often sloppy affair. Freshman Derrick Mercer ran the team with confidence, registering several pretty assists and helping keep Howard senior Louis Ford scoreless for the first time in his collegiate career. Fellow freshman Jordan Nichols showed a nose for the ball, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. And 6-10 junior forward Brayden Billbe, by far the tallest player on the court, continued to mature, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Howard (1-5), on the other hand, suffered another agonizing loss two days after halting its 21-game losing skid. The Bison have had double-digit leads in three of their five losses.

Howard led by two at halftime, but American opened the second half with nine straight points and never trailed again. Darryl Hudson and Will Gant had 13 points each for the Bison, who made just five field goals in the second half after shooting 52 percent in the first.

"It's a combination of knowing how to close out games, mental toughness and not losing confidence in each other," first-year coach Gil Jackson said. "I can't get frustrated after five or six games."

The reasons for American's turnaround are many, and a more forgiving schedule is certainly one of them. The Eagles, who don't use any seniors in their regular rotation, began the year with one of the nastiest opening stretches in the nation. Only 20 Division I teams were undefeated before last night, and American had lost to three of them. Their first six games -- all losses away from Bender Arena -- came against opponents that are a combined 32-5.

But coming home got the Eagles out of their funk. They used an 18-2 second-half run to top Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday, and made a school record 15 three-pointers in a win over Towson Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, they outrebounded Howard 40-28 in a physical contest.

"I think each win that we got made it more likely that we could get the next one," Jones said. "It's a . . . lot better feeling than when we were 0-6."

And further reinforcements are on the way; 6-11 transfer Paulius Joneliunas should be eligible for American's Dec. 23 game at Maryland. Still, there was little rejoicing in the American locker room over a third-straight win.

"I think the mind-set of this team is that we're definitely better than our record or how we've been playing," Ingram said. "Inside, we're definitely happy we got the win, but it's just something about this team. It just wants more."