ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville) set both a school and Patriot League record when he handed out 19 assists to lead American University to a 80-58 victory over the Naval Academy. American is now 8-8 on the season and 2-0 in Patriot League play.
Rodriguez was brilliant versus the Midshipmen as he scored 11 points, notched five steals and grabbed five rebounds to go along with his assists. The 19 assists is the best effort in Division I this season (three others have notched 15 this season) and just three away from the NCAA all-time record of 22. The record of 22 assists is held by Tony Fairley (Charleston Southern), Avery Johnson (Southern University) and Sherman Douglas (Syracuse), with Douglas doing it last on Jan. 28, 1989. The Patriot League record was 16, and held by Russell Peyton of Bucknell (11/26/91).
The 19 assists tops the old AU record of 15, which was set by Herb Jamison versus Temple (2/25/76). Rodriguez now has 130 for the season, which is the ninth-best single season in AU history. As a team, the Eagles finished with 26 assists, which is the eighth-best team performance.
The recipient of many of Rodriguez' passes was freshman Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who set an Alumni Hall record for three-pointers made (eight) and taken (15). The number of made threes (eight) ties Ingram with Nathan Smith for the second-best single game for three-pointers made in AU history, while the 15 attempts ties him with Ronald Hearns for the most attempts in a game. Ingram led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, and he also chipped in four rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes of action.
In the first half the Eagles led by six points (25-19) when Ingram hit three treys in a row to break things open. The first two were assisted by Rodriguez and the third one by Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/Univerza V Ljubljani), which made the score 34-19 with 4:01 left in the half. AU notched nine threes in the first stanza.
In the second half American pushed the lead to 22 points with 14:37 left in the game. Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac Senior) caught fire as scored 14 of his 19 points in the second stanza. For the game Draughn was nine-of-11 from the field and blocked two shots in 30 minutes of action. Jason Thomas (Herndon, Va./Notre Dame Academy) was equally efficient from the field, connecting on five-of-seven field goal attempts, including three-of-four from behind the arc. He finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
American tied a team-record for three-pointers made in a game with 14. AU made 14 versus North Carolina A & T on Dec. 7, 2001. They were 31-of-57 from the field (54.4 percent) and shot even better from behind the arc at 14-for-25 (56.0 percent).
"I am glad we are .500 (8-8), but I just wish we could have reached it a little earlier in the season," said American University head coach Jeff Jones. "However, the more significant mark for me is 2-0 in Patriot League play. That is a bit more important than being .500 overall."
Navy was led by Davis Hooper, who scored 21 points on seven-of-13 shooting. He also chipped in seven rebounds and three assists. Mike Higgins was the only other Midshipman in double figures with 12 points.
American will next host Patriot League foe Lehigh on Saturday, Jan. 17 beginning at 1 p.m.
