Lafayette vs. American - A Recap

I don't know how many BIAH readers out there that are fans of the Patriot League, but nonetheless I am going to give you guys a recap of the game, whether you like it or not.

AU was in control for most of this game, grabbing an early 9-2 lead and pushing it to 24-15 midway through the first half. Lafayette is a scrappy team, and was able to hang around for a while, but in the end American was just too good.

The Eagles took a 41-30 lead into the half, but came out guns ablaze to start the second. They opened the half with a 13-0 run, holding the Leopards scoreless for the first seven minutes of the half. By that point, it was all over. Lafayette would make a few pushes, getting the lead down to 15 with the ball. But every time they got close, American would go on a little spurt or knock down a three ball to get the momentum back.

The Eagles would eventually go on to win 78-56 in a game that was never really in doubt in the second half. But one this I was able to take out of it is that American could cause someone problems if they make it to the dance.

Brian Gilmore hangs from the rim after an emphatic second half dunk.

Derrick Mercer is a very good point guard (I've waxed poetic about him here and here already, so I'll spare you). Garrison Carr is an excellent shooter and scorer (he led the league at over 17 ppg), and while he had a bit of an off-game tonight, you could tell from the respect he was getting by the Leopard defenders that he was a shooter.

The biggest reason I think this team could do some damage is that they have a solid front court. Jordan Nichols is not all that tall, but he is strong and athletic and, at least physically, looks like he can hold his own banging bodies in the post. They have a freshman that comes off the bench named Stephen Lumpkins (who has his own student section called the "Lumpkin Patch") that is long and seems to have a knack for being in the right spot on the offensive glass.

Three of the Lumpkin Patch faithful.

The best player on the Eagle's front line is Brian Gilmore. He is big enough that he can defend in the paint against a high-major (how successfully, I'm not sure), but the advantage he will have on the offensive end far outweighs any negative effect his size and strength will have. Gilmore is an excellent player on the perimeter. He has a good looking jumper and the ability to put the ball on the floor to make a play if need be. He will definitely cause some match-up problems.

This game had two of the funnier things I have ever witnessed at a sporting event. To start, during halftime, the AU dance team came out. They were ok as a whole, not great but not terrible, until their music went out. I'm not really sure what happened, but for some reason the gym went silent with about 20-30 seconds left in their routine. To their credit, the girls kept dancing, except that without the beat, they couldn't stay in rhythm or in unison.

The other incident might have been funnier. The AU cheerleaders sit on the baseline, about three feet from the out of bounds line. Early in the second half, the ref accidentally stepped on one of them and just about lost his balance. He went down, but he didn't go all the way down, instead ending up basically leaning on this poor girl. I guess he couldn't regain his balance at first, because for about five or six seconds, he was all but lying on top of this poor girl.

So that is about it. Hopefully on Sunday, we will get a more exciting game as American hosts Army at noon.