Box Score Nick Hendra scored a career-high 22 points to lead the American University men's basketball team past Fordham 73-57 Wednesday night in the opening round of the 44th annual Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif.
Hendra's 22 points came on 7-of-11 shooting with three three-pointers. The senior also matched his career-high with six assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Stephen Lumpkins turned in his fourth double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Vlad Moldoveanu chipped in 16 points.
American (8-5) shot 45.3 percent on the night while limiting Fordham (6-5) to 37.0 percent shooting. Brenton Butler scored 14 points to lead the Rams.
American opened the game on a 10-0 run sparked by solid defensive play. The Eagles forced three turnovers in the Rams' first five possessions and as a result connected on 4-of-6 attempts at the offensive end. American extended its advantage to 23-7 following a 13-4 run with Hendra scoring 10 straight points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Fordham cuts its deficit to 27-18 as a Kervin Bristol putback capped off an 11-4 stretch. Hendra's third three of the half put the Eagles back on top 32-20 before a Butler jumper at the buzzer sent the teams into the intermission with American leading 36-29.
The Eagles shot 46.2 percent in the first half, including a 6-of-12 performance from three-point range. Hendra led all scorers with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting while Moldoveanu netted nine points.
Hendra continued to pace the Eagles with a 15-foot jumper and later converted a breakaway layup on the backend of a 6-0 run to match his career-high. He would set a new career-high moments later with a driving lay-in to give American a 15-point margin, 58-43.
The Eagles' lead never dipped below 10 points throughout the remainder of the game and grew to as large as 18 points on a Lumpkins putback, 73-55, before the final horn sounded the 73-57 victory.
Delaware defeated Santa Clara 54-53 earlier Wednesday, setting up a matchup between the Eagles and Blue Hens for the Cable Car Classic title. American and Delaware will tipoff tomorrow, December 30 at 11:15 p.m. ET. Fans watch all of the action online or follow along via live stats by clicking here.
