Gamecenter: American 59, Colgate 44
28 February, 2007| 1st | 2nd | Final |
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| Colgate (10-19, 5-9 Patriot) | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| American (16-13, 7-7 Patriot) | 24 | 35 | 59 |
| Bender Arena – Washington, DC | Boxscore |
| Postgame audio: Colgate: Emmett Davis American: Jeff Jones | Andre Ingram | Travis Lay |
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The American Eagles moved to the Patriot League semifinals, downing Colgate 59-44 in Bender Arena. Andre Ingram scored 16 to lead American.
Colgate stayed close, tying the game at 14-apiece, but the Eagles claimed control with an 8-0 run, highlighted by Linas Lekavicius stealing the ball off a lazy Raider pass and sprinting the ball unobstructed to a lay-up. Colgate went 0-for-2 from the floor with 3 turnovers during the run. The Raiders responded with 6 quick points to climb back within 2, but never again drew even. The start of the second half was a horror show for Colgate, who went down by double digits early in the second period and never recovered. Ingram was joined in double figures by Arvydas Eitutavicius, who had 15 points, and Paulius Joneliunas, who scored 12 on 5-of-8 shooting. Colgate’s Kendall Chones scored 12 points, the only Raider in double figures. As a team, Colgate shot 30.0 percent from the field, compared to 43.8 percent for the Eagles. The win sends American to Holy Cross, who downed Lafayette 83-53 in their quarterfinal game. American lost to the Crusaders twice this year, but took them to overtime once and led at halftime in the other game. |
| Keys to the Game | |
| Key sequence | Colgate opened the second half as cold as can be. Of their first 8 possessions, the Raiders missed 7 shots and turned the ball over once. The Eagles expanded their lead to double digits in that span. |
| Key sign it was over |
After Colgate scored 4 straight points at the foul line to pull within 43-35, American rattled off 7 straight points, 5 from Eitutavicius, to take a commanding 15-point lead with under 5 minutes to go. |
| Key performance | He only scored 4 points, but Travis Lay played a huge role with a career-high 13 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass. Lay is a role-player for the Eagles, and he threw himself into contributing on the boards, going up for every available ball. |
| Key statistic | Colgate was killed by its own inability to knock down threes. The Raiders shot 1-of-15 for three, going 0-for-7 in the second half. Colgate could not find their long range shot, and stubbornly refused to abandon trying. |
| Notes | |
| – | Ingram moved into fifth place on American’s all-time scoring list with his 14th point of the game. He now has 1,622 career points, with at least one more game left in his career. |
| – | The Eagles dominated the glass, outrebounding Colgate 41-23. American had 12 second-chance points compared to 4 for the Raiders. |
| – | American outscored Colgate 26-16 in the paint. |
| – | Kyle Chones struggled all game, finishing with 6 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field, and committing 4 turnovers. |
