18 November, 2006
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| American (2-1) |
20 |
30 |
50 |
| Richmond (2-0) |
26 |
35 |
61 |
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After coming back from a 14-point deficit to lead for much of the second half, American lost control late in the game and lost to Richmond 61-50. Arvydas Eitutavicius led the Eagles with 15 points off the bench.
Richmond used a 16-2 run in the early going to open up a big lead. The Eagles stormed back immediately though, posting an 11-0 run to climb back in the game. The beginning of the second half was more of the same, as American ran off 9 unanswered points to start the half, giving them a slim lead they would maintain until under 7 minutes remained.
Brian Gilmore had 8 points and 5 boards off the bench for American. Brayden Billbe added 7 points and 7 rebounds. Richmond had three in double figures, led by Dan Geriot with 18 points, 2 blocks, and 5 assists.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 4:50 left, Richmond led 46-45. Ryan Butler hit two free throws to make it a 3-point game. After Eitutavicius turned it over, Brian Morris hit a trey to double the lead. Eitutavicius came back and hit a three of his own, but Dan Geriot made a three-point play out of a lay-up and a foul, stifling any chance that Eitutavicius’s shot could give the Eagles momentum.
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| Key sign it was over |
American was down by 4 with the ball and 2:17 left. Eitutavicius was stripped, and after Richmond missed a shot, Brayden Billbe turned the ball over, leading to a Morris three-pointer in transition. The Eagles had two chances to make it a one-possession game and couldn’t convert, paving the way for Morris to put the game out of reach.
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| Key performance |
Morris scored 15 points on only 7 field goal attempts. The reason? He was 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Morris also grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds.
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| Key statistic |
American was held to 34.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 5-for-15 from beyond the arc.
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| Notes |
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American won the rebounding battle slightly, by a 29-28 margin. The Eagles grabbed 11 offensive boards, three of them by Billbe.
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Richmond was 92.3 percent from the free throw stripe, and hit all 9 attempts in the second half.
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Starters Linas Lekavicius and Paulius Joneliunas combined for just 4 points for the Eagles. Lekavicius had foul trouble early and Joneliunas was ineffective defensively against Geriot.
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| – |
Richmond native Andre Ingram had an off shooting night, hitting just 1 of 9 field goals for 3 points.
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American gets a second taste of the Atlantic 10 next week when it travels to Xavier.
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