Eagles Are Close to Living a 'Dream'
Carr's Defense, Hendra's Unexpected Lift Guide American to Patriot League Title Game, Brink of Tournament: American 72, Army 60
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Monday, March 10, 2008
As the American men's basketball team left the court following its 72-60 victory over Army in a Patriot League semifinal before 1,965 yesterday at Bender Arena, amid the standing ovation from the fans and a throng of well-wishers, junior forward Brian Gilmore extended his right index finger: one more.
The Eagles advanced to play Colgate (18-13) in the Patriot League championship game Friday at Bender Arena.
And with one more victory, American (20-11) will make the NCAA tournament for the first time.
"As a college basketball player, it's your dream to make the tournament," junior guard Garrison Carr said. "But the coaches are doing a great job of keeping us level-headed. The first thing [Coach Jeff Jones] said to us in the locker room was that watching other teams make the tournament can be very seductive. We can't [start to] believe that we're already there."
With the victory, the Eagles clinched their first 20-win season since 1989-90. And Carr was a big reason why: He finished with 23 points and was the primary defender on Army senior Jarell Brown, a first-team all-conference player.
Brown was Army's leading scorer the past three seasons and entered yesterday averaging 18.3 points. Carr used his speed to fight through screens and take away Brown's space to shoot. Brown finished with 15 points but was 4 for 17 from the field.
The Black Knights (14-16) entered with a three-game winning streak, and their recipe for success wasn't complicated. In six seasons under Coach Jim Crews, Army has scored more than 80 points in a conference game once.
Instead, it uses an aggressive defense and patient offense centered around Brown. So it had to be disconcerting when the Eagles took a 23-6 lead following a three-pointer by Carr with 9 minutes 46 seconds left in the first half.
Army trailed 51-36 when it went to four- and five-guard lineups. And it closed to 57-53 following a three-pointer by Brown with 4:35 left. Included in the spurt were three layups that were set up by American turnovers.
The Eagles held on thanks to clutch free throw shooting from Carr and Gilmore: They combined to make 9 of 10 in the final 4:35.
American also was given a boost by an unexpected source. Starting forward Bryce Simon left the game with a knee injury late in the first half. His replacement, junior Frank Borden, picked up his third foul early in the second half and went to the bench. In came freshman Nick Hendra. He had not played in 10 games dating from a loss to Navy on Jan. 30.
Yet he made a three-pointer less than two minutes after entering. He also had a dunk that gave American a 51-36 lead and, after the three-pointer by Brown had closed Army's deficit to 57-53, he answered with a jump shot on the ensuing possession that gave the Eagles a 59-53 lead.
