6 January, 2008
by Jake Wilson
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| American (7-7) |
26 |
29 |
55 |
| Brown (8-5) |
33 |
35 |
68 |
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| Pizzitola Center – Providence, RI |
Boxscore |
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Brian Gilmore’s three-pointer brought American to within 54-48 with 7:43 remaining, but Peter Sullivan put back Mark MacDonald’s miss to answer back for Brown. The Eagles had four chances to cut into their deficit, but couldn’t do so, and eventually Sullivan got one of two free throws to make it a nine-point game. Derrick Mercer scored in the paint to make it a seven-point game, but Damon Huffman drew a foul and sank both shots from the stripe, and after a Travis Lay miss inside, Mark McAndrew got a pair of free throws for a double-digit lead for Brown with under two minutes to play.
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| Key sign it was over |
Gilmore’s layup drew American to within 61-52 with 1:34 to play, and Bryce Simon could have cut into the lead further, but his jumper wouldn’t go down, and Sullivan hit two free throws. Garrison Carr’s three-pointer and a Frank Borden steal gave the Eagles some hope, but Borden immediately gave it right back, and Brown scored on a fastbreak layup by Damon Huffman to restore its double-digit margin. Gilmore misfired from three, then Huffman got one of two at the line and grabbed his own miss, hitting two more at the stripe for a 68-55 lead with 37 seconds left.
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| Key performance |
Huffman exploded for 29 points to lead all scorers. The senior guard was 9 of 13 from the floor and 8 of 9 at the line, and also grabbed five rebounds in 36 minutes without a turnover.
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| Key statistic |
Brown had a huge edge from the free throw line, where it was 20 of 26 (76.9 percent), compared to American’s 5-for-9 (55.6 percent).
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| Notes
– Brown overcame a rough shooting night by McAndrew, who was just 1 of 9 from the field. Sullivan had 14 points off the bench for Craig Robinson.
– Lay was the top scorer for American with 12 points, and was joined in double figures by Mercer (11 points) and Gilmore (10 points), though Mercer and Carr combined to shoot just 7 of 24 (29.2 percent).
– The Bears did an excellent job of taking care of the ball, committing just eight turnovers to 15 for the Eagles and owning a 10-0 edge in points off turnovers.
– American grabbed 36.1 percent of the rebounds at its offensive end, compared to just 27.3 percent for Brown, though the visitors had a smaller-than-expected 15-12 edge in second-chance points.
– Chris Skrelja didn’t do much scoring, but he finished with game highs in rebounding (11) and assists (eight).
– American will continue its Ivy League road trip on Sunday, January 6, when it takes on Columbia at 2:00 pm ET.
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