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Men's Basketball Hangs On for 65-62 Win Over Colgate
Andres Rodriguez leads all scorers with 17 points in his final home game

Andres Rodriguez scored a game-high 17 points, including hitting seven-of-eight free throws in the last two minutes, in a 65-62 win over Colgate on Sunday.

Feb. 22 , 2004 | Boxscore

WASHINGTON – The American University men’s basketball team hit nine-of-11 free throws in the last two minutes and Colgate’s Mark Linebaugh missed a wide open three-point attempt at the buzzer as the Eagles defeated the Raiders, 65-62, Sunday at Bender Arena.

American had leads as large as 12 points in the second stanza, but Colgate began chipping away at AU’s lead with 9:35 left in the game, when John Simon hit a pair of free throws. Linebaugh then stole an inbounds pass and hit a three-pointer to make the lead seven with 8:50 left. Another Raider three-pointer by Dan Gentile, paired with two free throws by Andrew Zidar, cut the AU lead to three with 6:49 remaining.

The two teams traded baskets until Colgate’s Alvin Reed snagged an offensive rebound and put in a follow-up to make the score 56-54 at the 2:16 mark. However, Colgate fouled Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville) on AU’s next possession, and sent Rodriguez to the line for the first of four times in the last two minutes. The senior, who was playing his last regular season home game in an AU uniform, hit seven-of-eight free throws to help close out the game. Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./The Potomac School) and Raimondas Petrauskas (Mazeikiai, Lithuania/Lithuanian Physical Culture Academy) each hit one-of-two attempts in the last two minutes.

In addition to his 17 points, Rodriguez chipped in seven assists for the Eagles. Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) contributed 15 points and 10 boards, his second career double-double, while Draughn, also playing in his last regular season home game, scored 12 points.

Zidar led the Raiders with 16 points. Colgate falls to 12-13 on the season, 4-8 in the Patriot League.

American, which improves to 14-12 (8-4 PL), hits the road for a pair of contests against Army on Feb. 26 and Lafayette on Feb. 28.