WASHINGTON -- Despite trailing by seven in the early part of the second half, American University men's basketball showed resilience and overcame a surging Loyola Maryland squad, 81-76, on Wednesday night inside Bender Arena. 

QUICK NOTABLES

• With the win, American improves to 13-11 and 9-4 in Patriot League play. The Eagles now sit in a tie for second place in the league with Boston University.
• Sa'eed Nelson went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line on his way to 22 points, the sixth time in his last eight games that he's reached the 20-point marker. Nelson added four steals and five rebounds, as well. 
• Five Eagles scored in double-figures, the first time that's happened since the last time AU played Loyola on Jan. 22, 2020. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Loyola won the opening tip and went right down the floor and scored. 
• The teams went back and forth to start the game, before a 10-0 run from American, spurred by three turnovers by Loyola, gave the Eagles a 15-7 lead with 12:21 left in the half. 
• AU led the rest of the half, but never by more than eight points. A three from Jamir Harris with 46 seconds remaining in the half gave the Eagles a 36-28 advantage.
• Andrew Kostecka scored the last five points of the half for Loyola and AU led at the break, 36-33. 
• The momentum continued into the second half for the Greyhounds, as Loyola put together an 18-3 run stretching across both halves to take its largest lead of the night at 46-39 with 16:14 left in the game. 
• Back-to-back three-pointers out of an American timeout cut the deficit to one at 46-45, but Loyola kept control through the middle portion of the half.
• American finally tied the game up at 55 apiece after a Stacy Beckton Jr. bucket in the paint with 8:58 left. 
• Over the final six minutes, the Eagles put together a 15-5 run to take control and a 75-68 lead with 1:06 remaining. 
• Sa'eed and Harris went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute to clinch the 81-76 victory.  

BY THE NUMBERS

• Although American only shot five three-point attempts in the second half, four were successful, good for an 80 percent clip. 
• AU went 17-for-22 from the free-throw line in the decisive second half. 
• The Eagles shot 50.9 percent from the field, their best performance since shooting 61.5 percent against Holy Cross on Jan. 18, 2020. 

MILESTONE WATCH

• Sa'eed now stands at 1,980 career points, 3 away from passing Willie Jones (1957-60) and moving into third place on AU's career scoring list. To move into first place, Sa'eed now needs 77 points.
• To reach 2,000 career points and become just the third Eagle to do so, Sa'eed needs 20 points. 
• Sa'eed now stands at 499 assists and needs seven helpers to pass Mike Sampson (1984-1988) and move into third place on AU's career assists list. 

UP NEXT

• The Eagles will hit the road to take on Bucknell on Saturday, Feb. 15.
• Tip-off in Sojka Pavilion is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Stadium. 

INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKET INFO

• The next home men's basketball game in Bender Arena will be Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. vs. Navy. 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.

KEEP UP WITH US

• 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).