American Cruises Over Anemic Army

American 58, Army 34

American's 58-34 victory over Army last night at Bender Arena was full of statistical oddities. None of the Black Knights scored in double figures. The Eagles had more offensive rebounds in the first half than Army had total rebounds. The game's top rebounder, with eight, was AU point guard Derrick Mercer, generously listed at 5 feet 9.

But the most significant figure: the fewest points allowed by the Eagles in 48 seasons.

"We were definitely ready to play," AU Coach Jeff Jones said. "It was also, if we are honest, one of those games where things seemed to go right for us and snowballed, and was just a bad night for Army. It wasn't all us. Sometimes you have one of those nights."

Unthreatened after the first three minutes, American (14-7, 6-1 Patriot League) defeated the Black Knights for the 16th time in the past 17 meetings, won its 11th straight conference home game and tied Holy Cross (11-11, 6-1) for first place at the midway point of the league calendar.

"It's good to be where we are," Mercer said. "We worked really hard to get here . . . but we have another half to go."

The Eagles have won nine of their last 10 and continued their best start in league play since going 7-1 in the East Coast Conference in 1981-82.

Reserve guard Nick Hendra had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Mercer, in addition to his rebounding, had 13 points, made all three three-point attempts and added five assists.

The Eagles coasted despite 3-of-9 shooting and eight points from Garrison Carr, the league's second-leading scorer at 18.1 points per game.

Mercer "hasn't really looked to shoot the three very much this year," Jones said of the senior, who was 9 of 29 from that distance entering this game after making 36 of 83 last season. "He has been very judicious. But particularly as of late, I've just noticed him in practice, he is really shooting the ball and shooting it confidently."

Army (7-14, 3-4) had won its previous three games but shot 31.8 percent and was outrebounded 38-19. Cleveland Richard (4 of 10, nine points) was the only Black Knight to make more than two field goals.

The Black Knights got off to a promising start but deteriorated quickly. A 9-0 run, keyed by Mercer's three-pointer and Brian Gilmore's two layups and turnaround jumper, gave the Eagles an 11-5 lead, and after Army's only basket in eight minutes, Mercer and Frank Borden made jumpers and Jordan Nichols scored inside for a 17-7 advantage.

"We were ready defensively and we executed early on -- it started a good night for us," Gilmore said.