Garrison Carr’s slump was kaput, a combination of a mild mental boost from watching film of all of his baskets this season and the career-best 34 points he dropped on UMBC on Saturday night.
So it was quickly on to the next game for Carr and his American teammates. Except from the outside, the next game harbors a little extra meaning, seeing as how the Eagles will try to replicate their defeat of Maryland from a season ago.
“Last year was last year,” Carr said of Monday night’s game at Comcast Center. “Coach [Jeff Jones] said in the locker room that this is a new year and they’ll be ready to play just like we are.”
The Terrapins certainly weren’t last Dec. 22. And as a result, American collected both a once-in-80-years defeat of a local power and a touchstone for the rest of a magical season. It wasn’t long before Patriot League play arrived, and the Eagles soon rose to the top of the conference. Then came three league tournament victories to lock up the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance, which led to a scare of second-seeded Tennessee in the first round.
So much, though, was rooted in that delirious late-December afternoon in College Park, when American controlled play for nearly the entire game and left with a 67-59 victory against the reeling Terps.
“Beating them put an asterisk on our schedule and let us know we could compete with anybody if we do what the coaches preach and don’t beat ourselves,” said guard Derrick Mercer, who is a point shy of 1,000 for his career. “After we beat them, it was like the light bulb came on in our head, letting us know our potential.”
The Eagles (5-5) snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday with the help of a dominant first half; like last season, Mercer and Carr complement each other in the backcourt exceptionally well.
Just like last time, Maryland is coming off a 10-day break - but in an entirely different place. The Terps are 7-2 and won their last three heading into exams. Last year, they plummeted to 6-6 and dropped their third in a row when American toppled them.
In retrospect, the result was not nearly as big of a surprise as it was at the time. It’s also rooted in the past, not the present.
“At this point, it doesn’t mean anything,” Jones said.
Still, there should be some nostalgia Monday, especially since last year’s meeting offered tangible proof of what the Patriot League could accomplish. It wasn’t as if the league was a nonfactor; Holy Cross and Bucknell dominated it earlier this decade, with Bucknell collecting two wins in the NCAA tournament along the way.
To Colgate coach Emmett Davis, who has spent the past 18 seasons in the conference as an assistant or head coach, the Eagles’ victory represented a potential turning point for Jones’ team.
“I think it changed the culture of their program - not just their season,” Davis said. “We go up and play Syracuse every season, and we’re usually in the game for 20 minutes, and then in the second half their athleticism overcomes us. I think that’s been the trend for Jeff, too. He goes and plays Gary [Williams], and they hang in there, and then - boom, all the sudden - and it never happened.”
But for Monday night’s purposes, it was last year. Perhaps the Eagles can author an encore, but American isn’t dwelling on the past - except for trying to duplicate the loose approach that contributed to a signature victory one year ago.
“Maryland, they’re still the big dogs, and we’re the little fish,” Carr said.
Added Jones: “We’re not supposed to win that game. We were fortunate to win last year, and it was a great feeling, but we’re not supposed to win. There’s no pressure on us Monday. It’s a great opportunity for us to play against a program of that stature - and that’s how we look at it.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.