The men’s basketball team suffered a 75-61 home loss to American University on Sunday, but rebounded on Wednesday with a narrow 70-69 road win over Colgate University.
Sunday’s loss was marked by perimeter defense and shooting woes. The Leopards (7-10 Patriot League, 10-20 overall) shot just 2-of-12 from three in the absence of sophomore guard Caleb Williams, while allowing American (9-8 Patriot League, 16-14 overall) to go 13-of-26 from beyond the arc.
“This league is a catch-and-shoot 3-point league,” senior guard Ryan Pettit said. “At the end of the day, if you can’t guard that, then you’re going to have a lot of trouble winning games.”
The Eagles wasted no time in mounting an advantage, knocking down five 3-pointers to jump out to a 16-2 lead in the game’s first four minutes. Junior guard Andrew Phillips responded with a 3-pointer that sparked a 10-minute 23-5 run to give the Maroon and White a 25-21 lead.
Freshman forward Shareef Jackson scored eight points in the stretch, all of which came in the post.
“Kobe Bryant once said he’s not thinking about what his man’s doing, he’s thinking about what the people around him are doing,” Jackson said. “My first thought is making sure I’m mitigating the turnovers from the doubles and reach-ins, then I’ll go to attack.”
A one-of-seven drought from the field stunted the Leopards’ offense, allowing American to climb back on top with a 34-31 lead heading into the locker room.
American once again shot out of the gate in the second half, finding spacing in its transition offense to reclaim a double-digit lead after four minutes.
“If we’re not going to crash the glass offensively, we need to be able to get back on defense,” Pettit said. “They got a lot of easy points, which made them feel comfortable.”
Six different Leopards found the basket in their 16-8 run out of the timeout, closing the Eagle gap to 53-50 with just under 10 minutes to play.
“You’re not only playing for yourself, you play for the 15 guys on the team,” Jackson said. “Maybe you might fail yourself in your own mind, but you can’t fail the guys.”
American ultimately halted the Leopard comeback, connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers to put the game out of reach. The Eagles continued to pour on the points en route to the 75-61 victory.
Wednesday’s game saw the Leopards start hot, jumping out to a 21-11 lead over Colgate (11-6 Patriot League, 17-13 overall). Williams returned to the lineup, restoring the Leopards’ eight-man rotation.
“It’s just trying to get back in total shape,” Williams said. “I was kind of tired in the beginning of the second half, but I’m gonna get back in shape and be ready for Saturday.”
The Raiders cut the Maroon and White advantage to as many as three, but freshman forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert hit a 3-pointer — followed by a two-minute scoring drought by both teams — to keep the Leopards at a 31-25 advantage heading into halftime.
Phillips connected from long range to kick off the second half, but the Raiders accumulated a 19-3 surge that put them up 46-39. Humphrey-Rembert sparked a second Leopard gasp with a pair of 3-pointers, alongside three layups from junior guard Mark Butler, to reclaim the Leopard lead by the nine-minute mark.
“I felt confident in my shot and in my teammates finding me in open spaces to make plays,” Humphrey-Rembert said.
The Leopards built a 66-60 lead, but Colgate controlled the offensive floor for the remainder of the contest to threaten a late push. A loose-ball turnover gave the Raiders one last chance to take the lead down one, but junior center Misha Bednostin secured the rebound off the miss to ice the victory.
“Misha and Christian made a great play on the ball,” Williams said. “That was just great defense.”
Williams and Butler both tallied 15 to pace the Leopards in scoring.
The Maroon and White will close out the regular season with their Senior Day game against Army West Point (5-12 Patriot League, 11-19 overall), as they look to avoid a play-in game ahead of the Patriot League Tournament.
“We’ve been really close to winning games, but right now we’re ready to fully show that we can win the game right now,” Humphrey-Rembert said.