Albany defeats American, 51-50

American University celebrated before Monday night's home opener and, two hours later, very nearly rejoiced again.

On an evening when they saluted last season's Patriot League championship with a pregame ceremony, the Eagles watched freshman Daniel Muñoz's floater miss at the buzzer and allow Albany to escape with a 51-50 victory before 1,929 at Bender Arena.

"It's a shot I am comfortable with and a shot I shoot a lot," Muñoz said. "It felt good coming off my hand and I felt like I had it."

With 11 freshmen and sophomores, the Eagles (0-2) are looking to the distant future. They experienced growing pains last Friday, relinquishing a 13-point lead and losing at St. Francis (Pa.). And against the Great Danes (1-2), after letting a nine-point advantage turn into a late deficit amid a flurry of misses and turnovers, the Eagles almost pulled out a victory.

With 10 seconds left, Albany's Tim Ambrose missed the front end of a one-and-one, allowing Muñoz to drive past his defender and loft a soft shot that struck the back of the rim.

"We couldn't have asked for a better shot and it just didn't go," Eagles Coach Jeff Jones said. "He did the right thing. You're in that situation, you make a move, you put your head down, you put pressure on the defense, you put pressure on the officials" to perhaps call a foul.

The evening began with the league trophy placed on display at midcourt and a video replay of the court-storming end to the 2008-09 tournament final. Three of last season's seven seniors -- Jordan Nichols, Frane Markusovic and new assistant coach Bryce Simon -- tugged a blue rope that undraped the championship banner hanging from a steel beam alongside the previous year's flag.

With those symbols serving as the backdrop, the current Eagles took the second step on a rebuilding journey that will inevitably confront many rough patches, particularly when they visit Georgetown, DePaul, Penn State and Florida next month.

The team's only senior has little experience, and although sophomore Stephen Lumpkins (12 points, seven rebounds) and junior Nick Hendra were in the regular rotation last season, the remainder of the roster is raw. Vlad Moldoveanu, a 6-foot-9 shooter who transferred from George Mason after 1 ½ seasons, is slated to start but won't be eligible until the 10th game.

"We feel like we are getting better each day," Lumpkins said.

The Eagles' innocence was glaring the first eight minutes against the Great Danes with 2-of-14 shooting, but they responded by making 8 of their 9, including consecutive three-pointers by freshman Blake Jolivette.

The lead grew to nine, was six at halftime and seven with 15 minutes remaining when the Eagles' offense disintegrated. They proceeded to score just nine points on 3-of-18 shooting and had seven turnovers after committing just four up to that point.

Nonetheless, American had a chance at the end. Sophomore guard Simon McCormack's free throws and jumper forged a 47-47 tie, and after Ambrose restored Albany's lead, Muñoz converted a drive, drew a blocking foul and made the free throw for a 50-49 advantage with 2:25 remaining.

Ambrose (14 points) scored from underneath 25 seconds later and Hendra (1 of 9, three points) missed a three-pointer. Ambrose was off target, but Hendra's pass was stolen with 11 seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish.

"If we can play that hard, if we can scrap and compete, we're going to get better and then we will end up eventually winning our share of games," Jones said. "It's easy to coach guys that play that hard."