The American University men's basketball team fell to Holy Cross on Sunday, 64-51, in Worcester, Mass. Stephen Lumpkins led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting but it was not enough to help the Eagles overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.

Holy Cross (8-19, 5-7) jumped out to an early 6-3 lead with baskets on three of its first four possessions. The Crusaders extended their advantage to 12-3 on an Andrew Beinert jumper with 13:58 to play before Lumpkins ended American's (8-19, 5-7) drought with his first bucket of the day. Nick Hendra pulled the Eagles back to within four, 12-8, with a spot-up three from the left wing two possessions later.

The Crusaders used a 5-0 spurt to regain a nine-point lead, 19-10, with 8:04 remaining. Trailing 27-17, Lumpkins scored three straight points for the Eagles to make it a 27-20 game but back-to-back Holy Cross baskets gave the Crusaders their largest lead of the half, 31-20. The teams traded baskets over the final 1:30 and at the intermission Holy Cross led by the same 11-point margin, 35-24.

Lumpkins had a team-high seven points at the break on 3-of-4 shooting with four rebounds, one assist and one block. Hendra added five points and three rebounds while Steve Luptak chipped in five points and two assits. The Eagles shot a combined 45.5 percent from the floor against Holy Cross's 50.0 percent with the Crusaders scoring 15 points off nine American turnovers.

American pulled to within seven out of the break, 37-30, off a Simon McCormack putback and Hendra fastbreak layup. A pair of Lumpkins free throws made it a 41-36 game with 11:51 to play but the Crusaders answered back with four straight points to go back on top by nine, 45-36. The teams continued to trade baskets back and forth and with 6:40 on the clock Holy Cross remained in the lead, 50-41.

The Crusaders extended their advantage to 56-41 with a 6-0 stretch before a Hendra three from the right wing moved the score to 56-44 with 1:53 to go. American moved to within 11, 56-45, on a Vlad Moldoveanu free throw and with 1:17 trailed by a score of 58-47. McCormack and Lumpkins each added baskets down the stretch for the Eagles but Devin Brown sealed the victory for Holy Cross with four free throws in the final minute.

Lumpkins led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting while going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. The sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists. Hendra finished the afternoon with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists while McCormack added eight points and seven boards.

American shot just 39.6 percent for the game while going 9-of-26 from the floor in the second half. Holy Cross, meanwhile, connected on 45.5 percent of its attempts and held a 33-29 advantage on the glass. Brown led the Crusaders with 16 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the line while Andrew Keister added 15 points and Goens chipped in 10.

American will return to action on Wednesday, February 24, against Navy in Annapolis, Md., at 7:00 p.m. Fans unable to attend the game can catch all of the action live on Patriot League All*Access by clicking here.