WASHINGTON - On a night where Kermit Washington's jersey was retired, Steve Miles (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield) led AU with 21points on 8-of-20 shooting, as the Eagles beat Colgate by three points, 58-55. Miles was 5-of-13 from three-point land, grabbed 7 rebounds and picked up a block and assist.

In a game marked by six lead changes, American missed a couple of opportunities from the free-throw line to put away Colgate late in the game. AU led by five points (58-53) with just over one minute remaining when they missed a pair one-and-ones. Colgate's Andrew Zidar's last second three-point attempt came up short. Colgate's Howard Blue and Mark Linebaugh led their team with fourteen points respectively.

"We needed this game tonight," said American head coach Jeff Jones. "We had a good week of practice and while we did not play great tonight, the fact is we won the game."

Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac Senior) was AU's second to Miles in scoring with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Draughn also contributed with four rebounds and one assist.

Senior Glenn Stokes (Silver Spring, MD/Albert Einstein) and sophomore Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/University of Ljubljana) provided the Eagles with eight points each, with Stokes dishing three assists. Cresnick went 2-3 from three point land and grabbed three rebounds.

Sophomore Jason Thomas (Herndon, Va./Herndon) sparked the Eagles off the bench with five rebounds and four points, including a dunk, in just 18 minutes.

Miles' 21 points now gives him 1,001 points as a collegian.

American won the battle of the boards by five, 35-30, and turned fifteen Colgate turnovers into 11 points. AU also won the battle of the points in the paint category by 10 (28-18). What was once an eight point lead for Colgate in the first half dwindled to just two at the half (28-26), and the Eagles outscored theRaiders 32-27 in the second half.

American (7-10/2-2) will next play Holy Cross at home on January 26, 2003 at Bender Arena. The game is at 1:00 p.m.