The American University men's basketball team fell to No. 16/14 Georgetown on Saturday, 73-46, at the Verizon Center. Nick Hendra led all scorers with 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds but a strong second half allowed the Hoyas to pull away.

American (1-8) took an early 7-4 lead following a pair of baskets by Stephen Lumpkins and Simon McCormack. Georgetown's Hollis Thompson gave the Hoyas a brief 9-7 advantage but a Hendra layup with 11:59 remaining evened the score at nine. An Austin Freeman three-pointer on the ensuing Georgetown  possession began a 10-0 run which pushed the score to 19-9 in favor of the Hoyas with 9:12 to play.

Hendra ended American's drought with a three from the top of the key and scored each of the team's next seven points to cut the deficit to eight, 24-16. Georgetown took a 32-16 lead using an 8-0 stretch which included six points scored by Henry Sims. The Eagles, however, closed the frame out strong with a 7-2 run.. Hendra began the spurt as he forced a turnover and was rewarded with an uncontested layup. He was followed by a Daniel Munoz floater and a Riley Grafft three-pointer just before time expired to move the score to 34-23 at the intermission.

Hendra was halfway to a double-double by the break with a game-high 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and five rebounds. The Eagles shot just 30 percent in the half against Georgetown's 56.0 percent but forced seven Hoya turnovers to limit their offensive production.

American began the second half on the wrong end of a 16-4 run as Georgetown extended its advantage to 50-27 with 14:14 to play. Hendra's second three-pointer of the day moved the score to 50-30 but a 13-2 Georgetown stretch made it a 63-32. Munoz scored five straight points with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws and following a Joe Hill trey the score was 71-44. Daniel Fisher capped off the scoring for both teams with a reverse layup before the final horn sounded the victory for Georgetown, 73-46.

Hendra finished the afternoon with 14 points to lead both teams and a team-high nine rebounds. He added four assists and one steal in 37 minutes. Grafft notched eight points, four rebounds and two assists while also playing 37 minutes and Munoz tallied eight points, two boards and one steal. The Eagles shot 27.1 percent from the floor for the game against Georgetown's 50.0 percent as Chris Wright and Henry Sims scored 12 points apiece.

American will return to action on December 16 against DePaul in Chicago, Ill. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.