The American University men's basketball team clinched the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a 64-60 victory over Holy Cross on Sunday. Vlad Moldoveanu hit four crucial free throws in the game's final seconds to seal the win.

Moldoveanu led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds and converted 13 of his 15 free throw attempts. The senior now ranks eighth on the school's single-season free throw list with 128 makes from the charity stripe. Stephen Lumpkins notched his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, while Nick Hendra tallied eight points and a career-high nine assists. Mike Cavataio led Holy Cross with 16 points and Andrew Keister had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

"I think what we saw out there today was a tournament type intensity," Head Coach Jeff Jones said after the game. "[Holy Cross] has been through a lot of battles and they have more tournament type experience than we do, so we're very excited that we were able to respond and hold on for the win."

Both teams came out sluggish as a Lumpkins layup and Steve Luptak three were the only two field goals in the game's first five minutes. At the 12:50 mark, Moldoveanu was fouled while shooting a three and made all of his free throws to put American (19-8, 9-3 PL) up 10-4. The two teams exchanged baskets until Nick Hendra found a cutting Daniel Munoz to give the Eagles an 18-11 lead with 5:38 left in the first half. A three by Dee Goens and a pair of Devin Brown free throws closed the gap to two, but a Lumpkins layup with 3.5 seconds left put American up 26-22 entering halftime.

Moldoveanu had eight points at the break as the Eagles shot 37.5 percent from the field as a team. Holy Cross (6-20, 5-7 PL) converted only seven of its 24 first-half field goals and no Crusader had more than five points.

The intensity picked up immediately in the second half after Keister quickly finished a layup 10 seconds into the period. The two teams traded baskets in the half's opening three minutes until a defensive stop and Lumpkins layup gave American a 36-30 lead. The Crusaders battled back with two strong layups and grabbed their first lead of the game with 12:47 remaining on a Keister putback.

"In the second half, Holy Cross was the one that threw the first punch so to speak. But when they had the momentum on their side, we responded in a positive way," Jones said.

After a Moldoveanu free throw tied the game, five straight points put Holy Cross up 44-39 with 9:45 remaining. The Eagles answered when Munoz corralled a rebound at the 8:05 mark and found Charles Hinkle in transition to make it 45-44 American. Holy Cross took the lead right back and held it for the next four minutes with the strong play of Cavataio, who scored eight straight points.

With 3:21 left in the game, Moldoveanu missed a layup, collected his own rebound and laid it back in to give American a three point cushion, 55-52. Holy Cross seemed to be out of answers until Jordan Stevens finished a reverse layup with the shot clock winding down at the 1:39 mark to tie the game at 56-56. After an American timeout, Troy Brewer hit a leaning jumper as the shot clock buzzer sounded to give the Eagles the lead for a last time. Although the Crusaders hit two frantic buckets in the game's final 10 seconds, Moldoveanu's clutch free throws sealed the 64-60 victory.

There were six lead changes and seven ties in the game, making it one of American's closest contests this season. The Eagles held a 35-32 rebounding advantage over Holy Cross and have now outrebounded their opponents in nine of the last ten games. In the last six games between the Crusaders and the Eagles, American has won five times.

The Eagles will host Navy on Wednesday, February 23 for Senior Night in Bender Arena. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

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