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American Clinches Patriot League Regular Season Title
Doctor's 19 points and 10 rebounds lead Eagles over Navy

February 20, 2002

Patrick Doctor's double-double helped lead the Eagles to victory over Navy.

Gameday Central
American	62
Navy	50
Box Score
Points: Dcotor (American) 19 Rebounds: Doctor (American) 10 Assists: Rodriguez (American) 5

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- American's men's basketball team captured the Patriot League regular season title tonight with a 62-50 victory over Navy. The Eagles (16-10, 10-3 PL) clinched the title thanks to a Bucknell victory over Holy Cross, giving American a two game lead with only one contest remaining. Navy falls to 10-18 and 5-8 in league play.

Navy jumped out to an early 10-5 lead against the Eagles behind eight points by Mitch Moore. Back-to-back three-pointers by Nick Boyd gave American its first lead at 20-17 with just over eight minutes to play in the first half. Boyd hit yet another three followed by a Vladimir Buscaglia three-pointer to stretch the Eagles lead to 27-19 with five minutes to play as part of a 15-4 American run. However, the Eagles only got one basket in the last five minutes while the Midshipmen scored only three points as American headed to the half up six at 29-23.

American jumped out to a 17-4 behind eight points by Patrick Doctor and six Glenn Stokes points to start the second half and open up a 19 point lead. A 7-0 run by Navy behind five points by Scott Long cut the Eagle lead to 12 with just over 11 minutes to play. A Steven Miles lay-up ended a four minute scoring drought for American and brought the lead back to 14. Navy ran off eight straight points to cut the Eagle lead to seven with under five minutes to play.

American fought back as Navy started to send the Eagles to the foul line towards the end of the game. American was 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the final five minutes of the game to seal the victory.

The Eagles utilized Doctor in the second half, and after only five points in the first stanza, he was a force, scoring 19 points in the second stanza. This was Doctor's tenth straight game in double figures. In addition, Doctor grabbed ten rebounds to record his third double-double of the season and 19th of his career. Miles and Stokes added 12 points each with Stokes going 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

American concludes its regular season this Saturday as they host Holy Cross at 1:00 p.m. in Bender Arena. The Eagles then will take part in the Patriot League Tournament held March 2-3 at the Show Place Arena.