HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/11/2007)—American University outscored Colgate University 13-7 in the overtime session to earn a 64-58 overtime victory in Patriot League men’s basketball action this afternoon on Cotterell Court. The Eagles got two free throws from Arvydas Eitutavicius with two-tenths of a second left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

 

Colgate falls to 9-15 overall and 4-7 in league action, while American improves its record to 12-13 and 4-7 against conference foes.

 

Colgate senior Jon Simon (Phoenix, Ariz.) led all scorers with 19 points, while junior Kyle Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) had 16 points for the Raiders. American was led by Derrick Mercer and Eitutavicius with 13 points apiece. Eitutavicius scored all 13 points in the second half and overtime periods, including going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

 

The Raiders led by as many as 11 points, 37-26, at the 14:22 mark of the second half. The Eagles started to chip away at the deficit, outscoring Colgate 12-3 over the next four minutes to pull within two points.

 

American continued to hold the Raider offense at bay as it regained the lead, 45-43, at 6:47 of the second frame for the first time since the three-minute mark of the first half. The Eagles climbed in front by four points, 49-45, before Colgate tied it again at 49 with two minutes left to play.

 

Neither team could find the bottom of the basket over the next three possessions, setting up the exciting regulation finish. The Raiders drew a charging foul with 23 seconds on the clock to earn the final shot of the game. Simon’s jumper with three seconds left fell just short, but senior Dan Gentile (Midland Park, N.J.) grabbed the rebound and put back the go-ahead basket with two-tenths of a second left on the clock.

 

That is where things got interesting as American called the timeout to set up for the final play of the game. The Eagles came out of the timeout and drew a foul on the baseline that put Eitutavicius to the free throw line for the chance to send the game into overtime. He stepped to the line and hit both of the one-and-one shots to give the Eagles five more minutes of life.

 

The Eagles dominated the overtime period as they held Colgate without a point for over three minutes. The Raiders held a three-point advantage, 55-52, before going on the scoring drought. American built its lead to as many as seven points during that stretch to earn the six-point victory. The Eagles were 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the overtime period.

 

Kendall Chones (Cleveland, Ohio) added 12 points for the Raiders, while Gentile and Kyle Chones had a game-high seven boards. Linas Lekavicius added 12 points for American and Andre Ingram had 11. Brayden Billibe led the squad on the glass with seven rebounds.  

 

Colgate shot 33.3 percent from the floor for the game, while American hit 38.5 percent of its shots in the contest. The Eagles were 91.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Raiders outrebounded American 39-34 for the contest.

 

The Raiders return to action on Feb. 14, hosting Lehigh at 7 p.m., on Cotterell Court.