WASHINGTON – Rebounds and second chance opportunities hurt the American University men's basketball team as they fell to Navy, 71-53, on Wednesday evening at Bender Arena.

AU now sits at 5-15 on the season, 2-7 in the Patriot League while the Midshipmen rise to 11-10 overall and 6-3 in the league.

Lonnie Rivera led AU's scoring efforts, putting up his third double-digit game of the season with 13 points off of 4-of-6 from the field. Mark Gasperini and Sa'eed Nelson also scored in the double-figures with 11 points apiece.

Although the Eagles improved on ball control against the Midshipmen, giving up only 13 turnovers, they suffered on the boards with only 19 rebounds to Navy's 36.  The Eagles shot 46.2 percent overall off of 18-for-39 from the field, and put up one of their top performances of the season from the line, shooting 80 percent.  

The Midshipmen shot 25-of-52 from the field, including 16 points off of second chance opportunities. Bryce Dullin put up a team-high 15 points, while Hasan Abdullah added 14, and Shawn Anderson and George Kiernan each contributed another 10 points.  Tom Lacey put up a double-double effort for Navy with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The Eagles will remain at home and host Colgate on Sunday at 2 p.m. for Phil Bender District Day. The game will also be seen nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tickets to all AU home basketball games are available online at www.aueagles.com/tickets.

For the latest on AU men's basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter @AU_MBasketball.