Troy Brewer Starts the Break...and Then Ends It!

Still pumped from Saturday's scrappy White Out victory over Colgate? Let's start bringing that energy to West Point tomorrow by putting this video of Troy Brewer's insane back-to-back block/jam sequence on repeat:



TROOOY BREEEWEEEEEEEEER!

See you later this evening for a preview of tomorrow's critical Patriot League matchup with the Bison-killers.

Pro Deo Et Patria and BEAT ARMY!
Josh

Eagles Brush With Crest Again As Colgate Falls In Bender

It's not often I'd say that a game against Colgate is exciting, exactly, or at least more exciting than any other game. However, today's game was downright exciting. Our Eagles definitely came prepared to this afternoon's first Bender White Out, teeth brushed with Crest and ready to topple the Raiders 69-60. That's right, I said topple. You might wonder, how does one exactly topple an opponent that is 6-19? Well, Colgate showed up at Bender today ready to upset, and for a brief period it looked like they might have found it in them. In a game so scrappy it was reminiscent of the 2008 Patriot League Championship game that was about as close to a wrestling match as you can get with ten guys and a basketball, AU showed it has what it takes to truly compete for the conference title this season.

After that kind of buildup, let's go through a list of what wowed me today. If I miss anything, don't be shy about letting me know in the comments. Let's go!

- STEPHEN "YOU CAN'T STUMP THE LUMP" LUMPKINS. As of today, that is now a grammatically correct sentence in itself. To multiple chants of "you can't stop him", the unstumpable one brought down a season-high 27 points, 6 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and an assist for good measure, with only a single personal foul to show for it. Oh, and 82% shooting from the charity stripe (against a season average of 64%) wasn't shabby either. Lumpkins slammed down something like four monster dunks, including the first one-handed jam I've seen from him early in the first half off a fast break. After having to contend with Bucknell's Mike Muscala, Lumpkins took advantage of a team without a quality big, and by "took advantage" I really mean "eviscerated mercilessly until even dental records were useless." 

- Speaking of monster plays and one-handed dunks, Troy Brewer played the role of the human highlight reel to the fullest this game. For quick proof, see all three glorious camera angles at the bottom of the AUEagles.com recap. With a little over four minutes remaining in the first half, Colgate started to get the better of us, shooting lights out from downtown (57% for the game, they were nuts), complemented by some impressive dribble penetration from guard Mitch Rolls. After a drive and layup by Rolls, he decided to be even more ambitious, picking the ball right from Vlad's fingers a few possessions later. Troy was going to have none of it. As Danny Munoz valiently tried to chase Rolls down on the fast break, it seemed as if he was in the clear for an easy layup to go up 28-24. In comes Troy, streaking in like he competing in the 100 meter dash. As Rolls goes in for the layup, Troy launches himself over Rolls and slams the ball into the backboard, effectively rebounding it to Vlad. Danny brings it down the court, passes back to Troy, who doesn't see a shot, and passes back to Danny. Danny dishes it to an open Hendra who takes a DEEP three, clanging off the rim. Then WHAM! All of a sudden Troy is staring eye-to-eye with the rim again and slams the rock home to bring the score to a much preferable 26-24. I swear to you, his legs are actually giant springs. Although this was countered with a Colgate trey, we held the Raiders scoreless for the last four minutes of the half and ended the first period 29-28. Troy ended the game with 10 points and the faint hope of seeing himself on ESPN's highlight reel this evening. While Charles Hinkle wears the number 23 with pride, tonight that number should have been on Troy's back.

- The Danny/Steve Combo Platter: 8 points (including a deep three from Luptak to start the game), a 6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 4 rebounds earns us a solid 40 minutes from the one spot. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely solid.

- The Vlad Virus: This piece of unfortunate alliteration here hints to the fact that I suspect poor Vlad of having a cold or some other mild ailment which is throwing off his game a little. He scored what I could best call the quietest 17 points I've seen from the Impaler, mostly from a 10-11 showing from the free throw line. Vlad looked a bit off tonight, and I really hope he feels better before we head off to West Point on Wednesday. If not, it's always good to see those around him step up, and I commend his ability to take on a huge supporting role even when he's not in the spotlight. Sure, being the second-highest scorer in the game, 3 steals, 4 rebounds, and an assist are great numbers, but not quite normal Vlad-level numbers either. The three fouls he racked up were a bit telling too, as lately his play has been tight enough to avoid a lot of the ticky tack calls that plagued him last season.

- Stop, thief! Both AU and Colgate each recorded 7 steals for the game, which is impressive. Although we definitely looked better (through these red, white, and blue goggles, anyway) on this end, neither team was holding on to the ball terribly well. It was clear who made the most of their extra possessions, however.

- DE-FENSE! Honestly, the final score doesn't indicate exactly how hopeless this game became for Colgate in the second half. Although they were up a point at the break, AU came out in the second half with all engines blazing and never looked back. Colgate's highest scorer for the game was Sterling Melville, who only had 10, indicating that the Raiders had a balanced attack despite having only a single double-digit scorer. To our benefit, we held Yaw Gyawu, Nick Pascale, and Joe Hoban to 9, 8, and 8 points respectively. We showed a lot of hustle and with the exception of about five minutes in the first half, never let the Raiders find a rhythm. If it wasn't for their untimely accuracy from beyond the arc, it would have been a blowout.

- The Pep Band Bagpiper: Whichever intrepid pep band member decided that bringing his bagpipe was a good idea, we wholeheartedly agree. While I sincerely wish more of your songs could get the entire Blue Crew to turn around, clap their hands, and dance, it was great to see the Screamin' Eagles getting some of the recognition they deserve. Plus, bagpipes are just freakin' cool.

- Congratulations to the Eagle-in-Chief: President Kerwin reclaimed his Presidential Shootout title at halftime, defeating Student Government President Nathan Bronstein 7-4 and avenging last year's loss.

- Finally, props to athletics on producing some very nice White Out shirts. I hope this great event becomes an annual tradition.

Well that's that. Share your reactions to today's game in the comments, and we'll see you later this week as we travel to Army to thank them for beating Bucknell the only way Eagles know how - by winning.

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!

Josh

Things I Think About a Game I Didn't See

Woo. Took me long enough to get this up, eh? So I didn't see the game last night. I'm going off of what I read through various recaps and the box score. Take this analysis with a grain of salt, I guess. I'm hoping you'll bail me out and post in the comments what you saw or heard last night. Or don't. It's Friday night after all.

Anyway. Some things I think.

- Glad to see Vlad's shot selection change a little bit last night. He was successful WITHOUT the long ball (only attempted two 3's and hit one of them). Still, he was the team's leading scorer with 21. Vlad lately has been relying too much on the long ball. This hopefully is a good reminder to him that he can score, at a serious clip, within the arc.

- Lump's foul trouble really hurt us inside last night. With 6 points and 1 rebound, this is definitely his worst game of the season. It's curious to me that he only played 14 minutes and yet Fisher and Wroblicky combined for just 8 minutes. I'm guessing they moved Vlad over to the 5 and put Hinkle at the 4 (since Hinkle had 24 minutes). Strange lineup. Tony Wroblicky's minutes have really dropped off lately. We saw him a lot at the beginning of the season, but he started to fall off a bit and now we don't see him much at all. Disappointing, but I hope that he can battle through and earn some more minutes as we get to PL play.

- Another solid game out of Troy Brewer last night. There's a rumor he even dunked the ball and didn't get a technical. Jokes aside, a very respectable stat line from him last night.

- To be within 4 of this Northwestern team at halftime is something that should be applauded. I didn't think there was much chance of us pulling this game out, and, well, we didn't pull this game out. You do have to wonder why the second half woes that we had so badly last year are creeping back on us again. AU appears to have come out flat after halftime. Northwestern started the 2nd half with a 22-6 run. Oof. Brutal.

- This is a Northwestern team that is very, very talented. Shurna is going to make a solid run for 1st team Big 10, and Michael Thompson is having a great season as well. Aside from those two we did a pretty good job on defense (holding them to 8-22). But, well, those two are a pretty big part of the offense so I guess it's a wash analysis.

- Nice game from Simon last night. As I mentioned in the last recap, his minutes are going to be reduced. To get 4 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists in 13 minutes says to Jeff Jones, "I'm productive, you've got to find me some minutes." Having Lump in foul trouble last night opened up some time for Simon by way of shifting Hinkle over.

Anyway, that's all I've got. What did you all see and want to share? Are we excited for Mt. St. Mary's on Monday?

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Quick Hit: Seven Three Pointers?

Well, that's one way to show everyone that you do deserve the reputation you have. Troy Brewer went off for 7 three pointers and finished with 24 points against Howard last night. In doing so, he also got his first double-double. My lips are zipped to any further criticism about his three point capabilities.

The nickname competition for Troy begins riiiiight now.

The Rainmaker? Three's Company? ThreeThreeMcThree? That's all I got.

Leave it in the comments.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

When Your Team Plays Like a Robert Louis Stevenson Novel, There's GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

1-0 folks. As long as we're being honest, that's the only number in this entire post that matters. One in the win column. Revenge earned after last year's second half collapse at St. Francis. Actually, come to think of it, this year was kind of the reverse of last year's. We went into halftime trailing by 9 and then outscored St. Francis 35-16 in the second half to get the 10 point victory. It wasn't often pretty, and at times, it was downright ugly. Here are the resources you'll want: box score and recap. Let's get into it...with the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY

THE GOOD

Vlad "the Impaler" Moldoveanu - 24 points to lead all scorers, including draining the three (off a sweet Nick Hendra pass) that finally tied the game up with 12:07 left in the second half. Not the prettiest line Vlad will ever put up, and Jeff Jones noted that "this was not his best game," but he still got it done. 7-15, 2-5, and 8-10 with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist, unfortunately he also had 4 turnovers.

Troy Brewer - We need to get some kind of nickname for Troy, and I'm going to recommend Peter Parker or Spiderman. Seriously, the guy's vertical leap is out of control. I think he could hurdle Lumpkins if he wanted to. Last night he went up for a block, and I swear his head was even with the rim when he did so. Unbelievably athletic, and I think he's going to give AU the ability to open up some fast breaks. He's got a good instinct for it and is already halfway down the court looking for an outlet pass when there's even a hint of the Eagles forcing a turnover. Troy put in 36 minutes, and 12 points on 5-11 shooting. He was 0-3 from behind the arc, unfortunately. AU could've used some long range shots in the first half. He also chipped in 5 boards.

Nick Hendra - In the post-game conference, Jeff Jones said that Nick has already played with more sustained intensity and focus this season than he has at any point in his career with AU. That's a hell of a statement, and it's good that we're seeing Hendra take up this intensity on the court. He's got a ton of experience as a senior, and he has a ton of talent as well. Last night, though, you could see the unbelievable intensity he was playing with. He seems like some kind of field general out there now. Pointing to his guys and making sure they're in the right places, distributing the ball, hustling for loose balls. He had 5 points last night, but they were huge. He scored the first five non-free throw points of the second half, which, with Lumps' two free throws, sparked the 7-0 run that brought the Eagles back into the game.

Danny Munoz - Hell of a game last night from Danny. Coach Jones said this might have been his best game as an Eagle thus far and that he was looking for his shot more than in any game last year. 10 points, including two 3's. Danny seems to have made the long ball a more regular part of his game than last year. He seems to be more comfortable shooting from behind the arc, or at least has been these first two games. Danny also has done a good job driving into the lane and getting some good dribble penetration. No assists in 24 minutes though isn't such a good stat from our point guard though; hopefully that will improve.

The Blue Crew - An attendance of over 2,800 last night, on a Friday night? Awesome. The atmosphere in Bender was nothing short of electric, and the crowd did its best to keep St. Francis unsettled. KEEP IT UP, folks. The guys need us to provide the PL's best home court advantage. What a great start to the season for the AU fans.

The second half - Any time you outscore your opponent 35-16 in a half, that's a quality half for sure. We came out of the locker room ready to play and really locked down St. Francis with an intensity that was completely lacking in the first half. The shooting in the second half also improved: 12-25, 4-8, and 7-11.

THE BAD

Stephen Lumpkins - Lump was stumped last night. St. Francis's big man, Mislav Jukic, was a real beast last night, and he made Lump look bad most of the night. Coach Jones said Lumpkins was "overmatched" going one-on-one with Jukic, who finished 9-12 with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Lump's line? 3-6 for 9 points and 6 rebounds. Not a bad line, but we've come to expect more out of the big guy. There's a lot of other talented big men Lump will have to face this year. Hell, just in the PL he's got Gate's John Brandenburg, Mike Muscala from Bucknell, and Jared Mintz at Lafeyette. Hopefully he learned some lessons from facing Jukic that he can apply later this year.

 I'd add more to the Bad here, but there's really more Ugly than Bad. So let's move onto that.

THE UGLY

The first half for the Eagles - Jeff Jones said in the press conference that St. Francis just came out and punched us right in the mouth. Yep, that's pretty much how it went. They got out to a 9-0 lead before it seemed we even had our shoes laced up. Completely not ready to play. In the first half, we were 10-26 overall and 1-11 from behind the line. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

3 point shooting overall - 5-19 for the game isn't going to get it done. Surprisingly, only Danny Munoz had any kind of consistent touch from behind the arc. While the 3's we had were big, 14 missed shots from behind the arc is something we're definitely going to have to improve on.

I think that'll do it for me. Anything I missed, folks? A good start for the season for the Eagles, now we get to venture up to Albany and face the Scooby-Doos!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!