Jamir Harris
70
Loyola Maryland Loyola 0-3,0-3 Patriot
71
Winner American Americ 1-2,1-2 Patriot
Loyola Maryland Loyola
0-3,0-3 Patriot
70
Final
71
American Americ
1-2,1-2 Patriot
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Loyola Maryland Loyola 34 36 70
American Americ 39 32 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Earns First Win of Season on Saturday

WASHINGTON – 324 days after last playing in Bender Arena, American University men's basketball pulled out its first win of the 2020-21 season in narrow fashion, topping Loyola University Maryland, 71-70, on Saturday afternoon.

QUICK NOTABLES
  • Jamir Harris led AU with a career-high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and also drained 7-of-8 free-throw attempts, including two to give American a three-point lead with 7.6 seconds remaining.
  • According to Harris, the game ball for today went to Josh Alexander. The junior big battled inside all game, scoring a career-high 13 points on 5-of-9 from the field with four rebounds. He also matched a career-best with three steals.
  • Johnny O'Neil came off the bench for the first time in his young career, putting in 29 minutes and scoring 10 points, including a monster slam dunk that gave AU momentum in the middle part of the second half. He added a team-best seven rebounds and had two blocks.  

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Loyola jumped out to a lead in the early going, stretching their advantage to eight with a three-pointer by Santi Aldama to take a 22-14 lead with 11:12 to play in the first half.
  • American responded with a 16-3 run to take a 30-25 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half.
  • The Eagle lead stretched to as many as nine in the final minutes of the half, but Loyola narrowed that margin with two baskets in the final minute of the half. AU entered halftime with a 39-34 lead.
  • AU started out the second half slowly, only leading by one point, before coming to life with five straight points by Jamir Harris to go back up by six, 46-40, with 14:20 to play.
  • With AU leading, 52-51, Johnny O'Neil jolted the team with a highlight-reel slam dunk.
  • Connor Nelson followed up with a three-point play after drawing contact in the paint.
  • Despite cutting into the American lead several times, Loyola never got back on top.
  • Two free-throws by Harris gave AU a three-point lead with seven seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Loyola missed a three-point attempt and scored two points on a put-back as time expired.
BY THE NUMBERS
  • American's three-point defense was solid, holding the Greyhounds to 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
  • One week removed from back-to-back 20 turnover games against Navy, AU cleaned it up on offense, only turning the ball over 11 times. Defensively, the Eagles forced 17 Loyola turnovers.
  • American shot 80 percent from the free-throw line (16-of-20), much improved from last weekend when the Eagles shot just under 61 percent in two games against Navy.
UP NEXT
  • The Eagles will head up to Baltimore on Sunday to close out the weekend doubleheader with the Greyhounds at 6 p.m. in Reitz Arena.
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. 
KEEP UP WITH US
Print Friendly Version