QUICK NOTABLES

• Connor Nelson hit a career-high five three-pointers en route to a career-high 19 points. 
• Josh Alexander reached new season-highs with eight points and 10 rebounds off the bench. 
• American falls to 6-9 on the season, including 2-2 in Patriot League play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lehigh came out of the gate ready to play, scoring the game's first six points en route to a 15-2 run to start the game.
• Connor Nelson hit one of his three first-half three-pointers to cut Lehigh's lead to five with 10:15 remaining in the half. 
• Just a few minutes later, Connor was up to his old tricks, cutting the lead to five once again with another three to get the deficit to 25-20 with 5:29 left in the half. 
• With 1:21 left in the half, Sa'eed Nelson grabbed a steal and scored a bucket on the other end to cut the lead to four. 
• Two free throws by Jamir Harris cut the deficit to two at 34-32 with 0:51 remaining, but a three-pointer by Lehigh gave them a 37-32 lead heading into halftime. 
• American forced 11 turnovers in the first half, but were out-rebounded, 21-9. 
• The Eagles cut Lehigh's lead to 41-39 early in the second half after a 7-0 run initiated by a Stacy Beckton Jr. three-pointer.
• But the Mountain Hawks responded in force, holding American scoreless for over five minutes to run its lead to 53-39. 
• One last 7-0 AU run, punctuated by another Connor Nelson three, gave the Eagles life with 9:50 left and trailing, 53-46. 
• A flagrant foul against American pushed Lehigh's advantage to 15 points with 5:45 remaining. 
• After playing the free-throw game in the last two and a half minutes, AU was able to trim the deficit to seven after Yilret Yiljep scored a short bucket with 1:03 remaining, but they wouldn't get any closer. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sa'eed Nelson tied for the team-high with 19 points. He also recorded team-highs in assists (7) and steals (3). 
• Jamir Harris hit a couple three-pointers in the second half on his way to a 14-point performance. 
• As a team, American struggled with shooting, going 38% from the field and 29% from three-point range. The free-throw line wasn't much kinder as the Eagles only shot 58.9% from the charity stripe. 

UP NEXT

• American will open up a two-game home stand with a tilt against Bucknell inside Bender Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 P.M.
• Looking ahead, the Eagles will also host Holy Cross for District Day next Saturday afternoon.  

INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKET INFO

• The next home men's basketball game in Bender Arena will be Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. vs. Bucknell. Great seats are available for this and all remaining Patriot League basketball home games. 
• Secure your seats today by visiting AUeagles.com/Tickets or by calling (202) 885-TIXX (8499). 
• Group Tickets are available starting at just $5 each. 
• AU students are admitted free of charge to home basketball games with a valid AU ID.

"BENDER WEEKENDER" TICKET MINI-PLAN NOW ON SALE THROUGH JAN. 17

• Ring in the new year by purchasing AU Men's Basketball's "Bender Weekender" Ticket Mini-Plan! 
• For just $50 you get a sideline ticket in Sections 102 or 105 to three exciting Saturday afternoon home match-ups this January and February: Jan. 18 vs. Holy Cross, Jan. 25 vs. Colgate and Feb. 8 vs. Army. 
• Purchase this special limited time offer at AUeagles.com/Tickets now through Jan. 17!

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).