Eagles Battle, Come Up Short

East Region: Tennessee 72, American 57

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 21 -- Regardless of the outcome, American University's first trip to the NCAA tournament after spending decades in college basketball's backwaters was not going to be forgotten anytime soon. But after what the 15th-seeded Eagles nearly accomplished against No. 2 Tennessee on Friday at BJCC Arena, perhaps much of the country will not soon forget it either.

The 72-57 margin was terribly misleading. It gave no indication that the Eagles (21-12) were tied with one of the nation's most explosive teams midway through the second half or that, after falling behind by 10, they made three consecutive three-pointers to draw within a point with six minutes to go.

It did not show AU outrebounding the bigger and more athletic Volunteers by a wide margin and putting itself in position to become only the fifth No. 15 seed to win a first-round game. It did not illustrate junior guard Garrison Carr stroking six three-pointers, scoring a game-high 26 points and eclipsing Tennessee all-American Chris Lofton, who was held to one field goal.

But after the Volunteers (30-4) made another run against the weary Eagles and then paraded to the free throw line to extinguish any fleeting upset prospects, AU's remarkable March came to a close.

"It has been a great time," said Coach Jeff Jones, whose two-senior team earned its most victories in 26 years and won its first Patriot League title. "I am disappointed that we lost the game, but I am more disappointed that the journey for this particular team is ending. . . . To see them, as well as American University and the entire university community, get our moment in the sun has really been a great time and a special time."

The Eagles made the most of it. Fears of a blowout, a common occurrence on the opening day of the tournament, were put to rest by an AU team that handled unrelenting pressure as well as could be expected and led for a portion of the first half. They fell behind by seven at halftime, but tied it at 40 on Carr's three-pointer with 11 minutes 33 seconds left.

After Tennessee responded with 10 straight points, the Eagles answered with two three-pointers by Brian Gilmore (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) and another by Carr to trim the deficit to 50-49.

"I was thinking that this is crunch time, when teams who are of high caliber get tight because the little fish is still hanging around," junior guard Derrick Mercer said. "We were right there, but we didn't knock them off their feet at all."

Just 15 seconds passed before JaJuan Smith (19 points) made a three-pointer, sparking a 7-2 run that also included a three-pointer by Wayne Chism (16 points). The Eagles made seven of their first 12 three-point attempts in the half but missed their final five attempts and did not get closer than four.

Said Volunteers Coach Bruce Pearl: "Without pressure defense, we would have been in perhaps more of a similar situation that Duke was in with Belmont" on Thursday at Verizon Center -- another tight, No. 2 seed-vs.-No. 15 seed game that the Blue Devils won by a point. Tennessee forced 22 turnovers and had 12 steals to offset a 39-27 rebounding deficit, including 18 on the offensive end by the Eagles, and Lofton's 1-of-7 shooting for five points.

Down the stretch, "maybe in the last 10 minutes or so, American may have fatigued," Pearl added. "I don't know if we played any more effectively late. We played a lot more guys than they did."

With starting forward Bryce Simon (knee injury) unavailable to complement the perimeter threats, the Eagles relied heavily on the back-court duo of Carr, who did not leave the game until the closing seconds, and Mercer (nine points in 39 minutes). Gilmore provided his usual spark off the bench, but Tennessee countered with a variety of options. Chism scored 14 points in the second half and Tyler Smith had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists overall.

"Ultimately," Jones said, "they wore us down."

The Eagles' confidence never abated, though. When they pulled within 50-49, won the support of the previously indifferent spectators and energized their 500-plus blue-and-red-clad fans who journeyed from Washington, "we had the opportunity to control the game," Carr said. "Tennessee came right back down. While we were making our run . . . they made their runs right back and didn't let us get a solid lead."

And thus ended the Eagles' maiden adventure in an event that had eluded them for so long.

"We worked hard for this -- we fought, we clawed and we proved ourselves against a great Tennessee team," Mercer said. "We enjoyed this year deeply."