In trying to get to see every team in the area play over the course of the season, I had the opportunity to catch Tuesday’s Howard-American game at Bender Arena. Little did I know the Patriots were trying to post the 1,000th victory in school history.
American trailed for much of the first half before settling down; the Eagles used a 10-0 run over the first 6:50 of the second half to take a double digit lead for the rest of their 66-54 victory over the Bison.
AU moved the ball around the floor well—notching 14 assists in 19 made baskets…and produced despite leading scorer Derrick Mercer being held to 2 of 6 shooting with three turnovers.
Garrison Carr was held out of the starting lineup by coach Jeff Jones because the guard had departed from a “complete game”—the junior wound up contributing 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench—and coach Jones was pleased in his total game against the Bison.
Howard continues to give coach Gil Jackson optimism; despite having offensive problems (32 percent shooting) after halftime they didn’t let the game get out of hand—making a few runs before falling short. Eugene Myatt notched 22 points in defeat.
An aside about Bender Arena—I’m amazed at the backdrop behind the backboards. There’s quite a bit of space between the baseline and the walls, making free throw shooting a real experience.
Commonwealth Bonus—Hokies hangin’ tough…
Virginia Tech looked solid in their 67-39 win over UNC-Greensboro, holding the Spartans to 27 percent shooting and 1 of 18 from three point range. Coach Seth Greenberg has been looking for a certain toughness; he was able to get it Tuesday night-let’s see if he can build on it in the weeks to come (George Washington visits Blacksburg Sunday). One thing he can definitely build on is the play of Jeff Allen—16 points and 12 boards for the freshman. I saw Allen play in the Capital Classic last April as well as the other incoming Hokies--they may have some growing pains this year but will be back in ACC contention before you know it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment