Vlad Moldoveanu scored a season-high 31 points and Stephen Lumpkins chipped in 11 as the American University men's basketball team defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 65-58 Wednesday night in Bender Arena.

American (3-0) improves to 3-0 with the win, marking the first time under Head Coach Jeff Jones and first time since the 1989-90 season that the Eagles have won each of their first three games. Moldoveanu's 31 points came on 9-of-15 shooting including a 6-of-7 performance from three-point range. Lumpkins and freshman Tony Wroblicky grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added six points while Nick Hendra totaled nine points, six assists and five boards.

UMES (0-3) scored the game's first basket before a 5-0 Moldoveanu run gave the Eagles a 12-7 lead.  Each of the Eagles' first 12 points came off turnovers as the Eagles forced six by the Hawks in the first eight-plus minutes.  UMES would rally with a 7-0 stretch of its own, regaining a 16-14 advantage.

Moldoveanu put American back on top with a three-pointer at the 5:00 mark and extended the lead to 19-16 as he split the defense with a strong drive two possessions later. The Eagles closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 23-18 margin into the locker room.

Moldoveanu tallied 13 points in the first half, connecting on 3-of-4 attempts from three. The Eagles were just 3-of-12 from long range, however, and shot just 31.3 percent (10-32) for the half. UMES shot a slightly better percentage at 37.5 percent (6-16) but committed eight turnovers that led to 14 Eagle points.

Lumpkins scored on back-to-back possessions to open the second half, putting American on top by nine, 27-18. A Hendra three gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead of the night, 38-27. UMES would score eight straight points in just over a minutes time, however, cutting the margin to 38-35 with 12:47 remaining.

A pair of Tim Burns free throws with 6:02 to play tied the game at 45. With the score still tied at 47, Moldoveanu sank consecutive three-pointers to put American back on top for good, 53-47. UMES would hang tight down the stretch but Moldoveanu was too much, as he scored 16 of American's final 18 points over the final four-plus minutes to secure the victory.

"The jump shots weren't going and we stood around trying to force it far too much in the first half," Jones commented. "In the second half we started attacking the rim a little more. We made the adjustment and that was the difference."

American returns to action on Saturday, November 20 when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to face Florida Atlantic at 1:00 p.m. Fans can listen live or follow all of the action via live stats by clicking here.

$website.include("/video/Mens_Basketball/2010-11/Postgame_Highlights/10101117_MBB_UMES.flv")