ELON, N.C. - American University men's basketball team went on a 21-10 run to close out the game, but it was not enough, as the Eagles lost to Elon by three points, 85-82. Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville) scored nine of AU's final 21 points. American is now 1-4 while Elon goes to 3-3.
Jason Thomas (Herndon, Va./Notre Dame Academy) brought American to with one point (83-82) after hitting a layup with four seconds remaining. Thomas then fouled Carlos Moreira with three seconds left to stop the clock. After Moreira connected on both free throws, AU inbounded the ball to Linas Lekavicius (Silale, Lithuania/The Miller School). Lekavicius dribbled just past half court and got off a good shot as time expired, but it was just off the mark.
Rodriguez scored 16 points, dished out eight assists and notched five steals. He fouled out for the first time as an Eagle with 39 seconds remaining. Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac Senior) finished with 10 points and five boards while Thomas had 10 points and seven rebounds.
American led early in the first half by two points (19-17), however Elon went on an 18-2 lead to take a 14-point lead with 3:41 remaining. The Eagles then went on a 16-7 run to cut the deficit to just five points at the half (40-35). The run was led by Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who scored nine of the points while Patrick Okpwae (Yaounde, Cameroon/Berkshire School) had a dunk and layup. Ingram finished with a career-high 22 points on eight-of-17 shooting.
Elon came out in the second half and again pushed the lead to double digits (55-42) with just over 13 minutes left. However, American scored 14 of the next 18 points to close the gap to three points with 8:31 remaining. Lekavicius had five of the points. Unfortunately, Elon again raised its lead, this time going up 14 (75-61) with just 3:48 remaining.
"The final score was a bit deceiving because it was not that close," said American University head coach Jeff Jones. "Elon left it all out on the floor tonight. They were the aggressors for 35 or 36 minutes of the game."
The Phoenix were led by Montell Watson and Scott Rice. Montell finished with 18 points while Rice had 13, including two late threes.
AU will next play on Saturday, Dec. 6, when they host UNC-Greensboro. Game time is 1 p.m.
