20 November, 2006
by Elliot Smilowitz
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Loyola College (2-2) |
26 |
48 |
74 |
| American (3-1) |
41 |
40 |
81 |
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American withstood a furious second-half rally against Loyola College, holding on for a 81-74 victory. The Eagles led by as much as 20 before the Greyhounds trimmed it within 5 in the second half.
Andre Ingram led American in the first half, scoring 16 points on perfect shooting: 4-for-4 from the floor, all from the arc, and 4-for-4 from the line. He finished with 22 points. Loyola was cold from the floor in the first period, hitting 38.5 percent of their shots, including 0-of-7 from for three.
The Eagles came out hot, making a 7-2 run to start the second half to take a 48-28 lead, their largest of the game. But Loyola stormed back, hitting 6 treys in the second half. The Greyhounds were led by Gerald Brown, who scored 26 of his 31 points in the second frame. Loyola brought it down to the final two minutes, where American hit 10 of 14 free throw attempts to ice it.
Brayden Billbe poured in 17 points and 5 boards for American. Derrick Mercer added 11 points and 7 assists. Michael Tuck posted 15 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks for the Greyhounds before fouling out in the late moments.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
Loyola had the ball with 7:08 left in the first half, down by 4. Brett Harvey missed a three-pointer, and Ingram hit two free throws on the other side of the court. After a Loyola turnover, Ingram hit a trey to extend the lead to 9. After a three-point play by Josko Alujevic, Ingram hit another three-pointer, and when the Greyhounds missed another shot Arvydas Eitutavicius hit a lay-up in transition to establish a 12-point lead.
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| Key sign it was over |
After a Brown jumper brought Loyola within 6 points with 1:38 to go, the Greyhounds began fouling. Mercer hit a pair of free throws, and after Marquis Sullivan missed a three-pointer, Billbe hit 1 of 2 from the line. Brown hit another three to bring it within 5 with 55 seconds left, but Ingram hit both from the line to make it a 76-68 game. Even though the Eagles went just 5-of-8 from the stripe for the rest of the game, Loyola could not make up the deficit.
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| Key performance |
Ingram led American with 22 points, including 4-of-5 from three. Ingram had 16 points, and all 4 of his threes in the first half when the Eagles built their lead.
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| Key statistic |
Loyola was called for 32 personal fouls, American 20. The Eagles took 48 free throws, the Greyhounds 21.
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| Notes |
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The teams were even with 31 rebounds each. Jordan Nichols grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds for the Eagles.
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Amazingly, the two teams were also even in steals (7 apiece) and assists (14 apiece). |
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American transfer Cornelio Guibunda scored his first points for the Eagles, hitting two free throws in the first half.
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Three players fouled out for Loyola, one for American.
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This game was the 79th meeting between Loyola and American all-time. American now leads the series 42-37.
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