Box Score Vlad Moldoveanu scored a game-high 26 points to lead the American University men's basketball team to a 66-57 win at Colgate Saturday.
19 of Moldoveanu's 26 points came in the second half as he scored at least 20 points for the 11th time this season. Moldoveanu was 7-of-14 from the floor, 8-of-8 from the line and narrowly missed his second double-double of the year with nine rebounds.
The victory improves the Eagles to 2-1 in the Patriot League and 12-6 overall. American has won five of their last six games and three of their last four against Colgate (1-15, 0-3).
Stephen Lumpkins notched 14 points and six boards, with 12 of his points coming after the break. Lumpkins and Moldoveanu combined for 31 of American's 38 points in the second half. Troy Brewer scored 11 points while Nick Hendra tallied eight points and five assists.
American shot 44.9 percent on the day while holding Colgate to 36.7 percent shooting. Yaw Gyawu scored 19 points to lead the Raiders with Nick Pascale and Mitch Rolls chipping in 17 and 12, respectively.
Colgate took its first lead on a Joe Hoban three-pointer and extended its advantage to 15-11 with a Mitch Rolls three. Brewer's layup cut the deficit to 16-15 and Moldoveanu's first three-pointer evened the score at 18. The Raiders went back on top as Rolls converted a three-point play but Tony Wroblicky would retie the game at 24.
Moldoveanu regained a 26-24 lead for American with a hook shot in the paint. Hendra's layup with less than a minute to play made it a four-point game and gave the Eagles a 28-24 margin heading into the locker room.
Brewer and Moldoveanu each scored seven points in the first half with Hendra chipping in six. The Eagles made 11-of-16 attempts inside the three-point line but shot just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. American also held a 21-15 advantage on the glass through the first 20 minutes and limited the Raiders to 29.0 percent shooting.
Lumpkins scored each of American's first five points out of the break but Colgate was able to knot the game up at 33 on a Nick Pascale layup. Moldoveanu would then go on to score eight points on three straight possessions, putting the Eagles back on top 41-35.
Moldoveanu scored 13 straight points in total for the Eagles as they extended their lead to nine, 46-37. Colgate got back to within 48-46 with a 9-2 stretch before Brewer's alley-oop dunk from Hendra sparked an 11-2 run by the Eagles for a 59-48 advantage.
Moldoveanu scored 19 of American's 38 points in the second half, including a perfect 8-of-8 performance from the line. The Eagles secured the victory in the final 1:20 by going 9-of-10 at the stripe as a team.
American will return to Bender Arena on Wednesday, January 19 when it hosts Army at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the game are still available and can be purchased online by clicking here.
Fans unable to attend the game can catch all of the action live online via a subscription to Patriot League All*Access. For more information, click here.
