ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Despite holding a lead for most of the game, American University men's basketball couldn't seal the deal against Navy on Saturday afternoon, eventually falling in overtime by one point, 87-86, in their season opener.
QUICK NOTABLES
- Stacy Beckton Jr. showed no signs of rust after AU had its first two weekends of play postponed. The senior led the Eagles with career-highs in points (30), field goals (10), and three-pointers (five).
- Jamir Harris also stepped up for American, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-8 from long-range. It's the most points Harris has scored since pouring in 21 in a career-high performance against St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 16, 2019.
- Thrust into the starting lineup as a true freshman, Johnny O'Neil proved to be up to the task. The young big man scored 14 points, including six points on two 3-pointers in overtime to keep the Eagles within striking distance. The freshman also led the Eagles with eight rebounds and six blocks. The last time an American player had at least five blocks was almost three years ago when Sam Iorio also swatted six balls against Boston University on Feb. 14, 2018.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Right out of the gate, American appeared to be firing on all cylinders, making their first five field goals to open up a 12-4 lead with 16:23 left in the first half.
- Navy then temporarily cut AU's lead to one point. A 13-3 run by the Eagles, capped off by a transition 3-pointer by Harris, gave AU a 25-14 lead with 7:19 remaining in the half.
- American ended the half nursing a narrow 34-32 lead after Navy responded down the stretch.
- In almost a mirror image of how things went in the first half, the Eagles jumped out to an 11-point lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by Ben Lubarsky and Harris put AU on top, 56-45, with 13:36 remaining in the second half.
- The Midshipmen proceeded to continually chip into the American lead, finally taking their first lead of the ballgame after a 10-0 run put them on top, 65-63, with 5:52 left.
- Navy stretched its largest lead to five points with 2:46 remaining. AU tightened up defensively in crunch time, forcing three straight empty Midshipmen possessions before a four-point play by Beckton gave AU its final lead of the game, 73-70, with 16 seconds left in regulation.
- After Cam Davis made a bucket on the other end to cut the deficit to one, the Eagles missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity, giving the ball back to Navy.
- Davis then drew a foul with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation, making the first of two free throws and missing the second, which sent the game to overtime.
- Navy made 10-of-13 free throws in the extra frame, icing the game from the charity stripe after making some clutch baskets in the paint to grab a lead early in overtime.
- Johnny O'Neil drained two 3-pointers to give American a fighting chance in the final minutes, including the triple that cut Navy's lead to one with five seconds left.
- After missing the first of two free throws with 2.7 seconds left in overtime, Davis intentionally missed the second and AU was unable to get a shot off for the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Navy grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, compared to just nine for American.
- The Eagles were successful from long-range, shooting 50 percent on 14-of-28 from beyond the arc. The 14 triples are second in school history and the most since making 15 against Towson on Dec. 10, 2005.
- American went 6-of-9 from the free-throw line, compared to Navy going 29-of-40 from the charity stripe.
- The depth and veteran makeup of Navy's roster proved to be a problem for American, as Navy's bench outscored AU, 28-8.
WHAT COACH MIKE BRENNAN SAID
Overall thoughts on the game
- "I was encouraged. I thought we played hard. We did all the things that we tried to do in practice. Cam Davis is a handful and they're super-solid as a team. They're beating everybody and they're good. I thought we played hard and did a lot of good things. I want to see if we're going to be able to duplicate that effort again tomorrow with such a quick turnaround."
On Stacy's breakout performance
- "He's such a quiet kid, but he leads by example and by just how he plays. He did so much for us last year in every other category. He was blocking shots, getting rebounds, and doing all the dirty work. I'm not surprised [by him scoring a career-high 30 points], and it was a great game by Stacy."
On expectations for true freshman Johnny O'Neil going into the game
- "I knew he could do a lot of different things. I thought he played really hard when we recruited him, so it's good to see that's true. He's coachable. He's not worried about how many shots he gets, how many minutes he gets, or anything like that. Our whole team is like that.
On wearing a towel over his shoulder to honor Georgetown coach, John Thompson
- "I worked with his son for a long time and got to know Coach over the years. So, I thought for our first game, it was important to do that. To recognize him for everything he's don, not just for the game, or for athletics and Georgetown, but for the country."
UP NEXT
- The Eagles will not have much time to recover, as they'll turn right back around tomorrow morning to face Navy again at Alumni Hall. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. in Annapolis.
- Navy will return the favor and come to D.C. for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 6 and Sunday, Feb. 7. Times for those games are still to be announced and will be updated on aueagles.com.
VIRTUALLY "PHIL BENDER" ARENA PRESENTED BY GEICO
- American University Athletics has announced a new virtual ticket campaign in an effort to sell out Bender Arena this coming basketball season. This new season-long initiative, presented by "TEAM AU" partner GEICO, will challenge Eagles fans and alumni to sell out each seat in Bender Arena for the 2020-21 basketball schedule. The "AU Founder" ticket price of $18.93 commemorates the year AU was founded. Click here to support AU Athletics by buying virtual tickets.
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