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Lehigh Defeats American, 59-57, on Last-Second Shot in Patriot League Championship Game
Rodriguez, Draughn named to PL All-Tournament Team

March 14, 2004 | Boxscore

Senior point guard Andres Rodriguez finished with 16 points and six assists in a 59-57 loss to Lehigh in the PL Championship Game.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - American University fell just short in its third consecutive Patriot League Championship Game, as Lehigh’s Jose Olivero hit a jumper from the lane with 3.9 seconds left to give the Mountain Hawks a 59-57 win Sunday at Stabler Arena.

The score was tied at 57 a piece after senior Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville) knotted things up with a three-point play with 21 seconds left in the game. The Mountain Hawks worked the ball around and found Olivero, who lost control of his dribble for a moment before he drove the lane and hit the game-winning shot. American’s Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/Univerza V Ljubljani) got off a three-pointer from about 35 feet at the buzzer, but the attempt missed.

“I congratulate Lehigh on an outstanding season and game,” American head coach Jeff Jones said. “They made some big shots. Our kids kept fighting and made big plays of their own, and [Rodriguez] really showed his character and competitiveness.”

American went on a 9-0 run between 16:07 and 13:34 of the first half to transform a two-point deficit into a 14-7 lead. Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) had five points during the run. However, LU began slowly chipping away at the Eagles lead. The Mountain Hawks’ Kyle Neptune hit a pair of free throws to give LU its first lead, 26-25, since early in the first. Lehigh’s Jason Mgebroff hit a layup with 46 seconds left in the first, two of his 11 first-half points, to give the hosts a 30-29 lead entering the locker room.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle in which the score was tied five times and the lead changed four times. Lehigh took its biggest lead of the game, 52-45, with 5:21 left on a three-pointer by Olivero, and things looked bleak with Lehigh gaining possession with a seven-point lead. However, Cresnik nabbed a steal for the Eagles and Ingram hit a jumper, followed by a three-pointer by Rodriguez to pull the Eagles back within two points.

The Mountain Hawks responded in a big way when PL Tournament MVP Austen Rowland hit his second three-pointer of the game to rip back a five-point lead. Rodriguez then hit a free throw, but Lehigh’s Ra Tiah pushed the lead back to six with an off-balance floater in the lane. Another three-pointer by Rodriguez with 1:01 left in the game, followed by his three-point play, set up Olivero’s heroic last shot.

Rodriguez finished with 16 points, six assists and four steals and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was joined by fellow senior Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac School), who chipped in nine points, six boards and three blocks.

The loss is American’s third in a row in the Patriot League Championship Game. The Eagles fell to Holy Cross the previous two title games.

“I’m proud of the fact we’ve gotten this far for three years,” Jones said. “But it’s very painful. If we keep getting to these games, one of these times we’ll break through.”