Oct. 2, 2007

The American University men's basketball team will have three of its games on television this season, Director of Athletics and Recreation Keith Gill announced Tuesday.

Two of the games will be part of the Patriot League package on ESPNU as part of the PL's agreement with ESPN, league officials announced Tuesday.

American's November 13 matchup at Loyola (Md.) at 7 p.m. will be televised by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) in the Washington and Baltimore regions. The Eagles and Loyola, AU's most-played rival, had met 79 times in AU's 82 seasons of basketball. Last season, AU knocked off Loyola in Bender Arena, 81-74. That game was payback for a 68-60 loss at Loyola in 2005, in which the Eagles came back from a 23-point deficit in a televised game.

AU's game versus Lehigh in Bender Arena at noon on Sunday, February 10, will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The game should be an exciting one, as nine of the teams' 14 meeting since American joined the PL in 2001 have been decided by six points or fewer, including a pair of two-point decisions last season.

The Eagles will also be on ESPNU's airwaves on Sunday, February 17, at noon when AU travels to upstate New York to square off against the Colgate Raiders. Last season's matchup in Hamilton, N.Y., was also televised on ESPNU. That game featured a near-miraculous comeback by the Eagles, in which senior guard Arvydas Eitutavicius - one of the nation's top free throw shooters - drew a foul with two/10ths of a second remaining and calmy sank both to send the game to overtime, where the Eagles pulled away for a 64-58 win. That win was Head Coach Jeff Jones' 100th victory at AU.

Meanwhile, AU Athletics is still at work negotiating for more televised games. Stay tuned to AUEagles.com for more information.