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Sports

Brewer plays through injury at American

Gaithersburg product is a senior standout in college hoops for the Division I Eagles.

One former teammate, who grew up in Romania, is now playing pro basketball for a famed team in Italy.

Another top scorer from last year gave up his last season of eligibility to pursue a baseball career with the Kansas City Royals even though he had not played the game in college.

For Troy Brewer, who grew up in Gaithersburg, some mundane and unlikely events seemed to prepare him to be the go-to player on offense this season for the men's basketball team at Division I American University.

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But even that scenario has been altered somewhat early this season, through no fault of the former Montrose Christian standout. Brewer has been bothered so far by turf toe, an injury suffered in an exhibition game Nov. 2 against Randolph-Macon.

"His (right) toe is bothering him," Jeff Jones, the head coach at American, said after Wednesday's 62-56 win over Florida Atlantic at Bender Arena in northwest Washington. "I don't know if the casual fan can notice that. That is a painful injury. He is doing the best he can. Troy is not 100 percent."

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Brewer, a transfer from the University of Georgia, averaged 11.5 points per game last season for American. He scored 36 points in the first two games this season but was held to five on Wednesday against Florida Atlantic and head coach Mike Jarvis, the former mentor at George Washington.

"Things have changed a little bit," Brewer, who grew up near Jones Lane Elementary School in Gaithersburg, said of his injury. "I am still helping the team. We have guys who have stepped up."

That includes senior forward Charles Hinkle, who scored a career-high 27 points in the win Wednesday. Center Tony Wroblicky had seven blocks and Blake Jolivette came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points.

"It is great. We will take everything we can get. Charles stepped up a lot this game," Brewer said.

Last season Brewer was part of a team that included leading scorer Vlad Moldoveanu (20.4 points per contest), who is now playing for Benetton TV in Italy. Another top player was Stephen Lumpkins, who gave up his last year of eligibility for college hoops to sign a minor league baseball contract with the Royals.

Brewer said his toe would probably get better quicker if he sat out some games. "I don't think I have that option to sit out. I am trying to push through it and try to help us get wins. I am limited out there. I am not as explosive as I was," said Brewer, a 6-foot-5 swingman who is hoping to make his last college season a special one.

Limited on offense, Brewer said he is trying to help the team in other ways. He had 14 rebounds, three assists and one steal in the first two games for the Eagles, who were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the Patriot League this season by The Sporting News magazine. Brewer was picked to be a first-team all-league player by the magazine.

American is now 1-2 and will play Saturday in New York against Columbia in non-league action. The Eagles' roster includes junior guard Warren Flood, Jr., who is from Olney and played in high school at Bullis in Potomac.

The Eagles led 27-18 at halftime against Florida Atlantic, picked to win the Sun Belt Conference by The Sporting News.

"It was a big win for us," Brewer said after Wednesday's game. "They are a pretty good team. We got off to a good start."

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