WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After jumping ahead with five minutes remaining in the first half, American University men's basketball led the rest of the way in a 74-62 road win at William & Mary on Friday night. The win was the 100th of head coach Mike Brennan's career.   

QUICK NOTABLES

• Brennan is now the fifth AU men's basketball head coach to record 100 career wins. With two more victories, he will move into fourth place on the all-time wins list at AU.
• Stacy Beckton Jr. did not miss a shot in the second half, going 6-for-6 from the field en route to a game-high 24 points. He added a game-high nine rebounds for good measure, his most since putting up 11 boards against Army on Feb. 8, 2020.
• Johnny O'Neil battled foul trouble early in the second half to put up 11 points and a team-best three 3-pointers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The score was close throughout the first half with neither team able to build a sizeable advantage.
• AU held William & Mary to one field goal in the final five minutes of the half and scored four points in the final 24 seconds to head into the locker room with a 31-25 lead.
• Beckton Jr. scored the final bucket of the frame on a steal and transition layup right as time expired.
• The Eagles continued that momentum into the second half, stretching the lead to 12 on an O'Neil 3-pointer with 16:40 remaining.
• The Tribe cut that lead to five after O'Neil was placed on the bench due to foul trouble. After an AU timeout, the Eagles quickly responded with five points in 22 seconds to get the lead back to double-digits.
• The closest William & Mary got was within two points with 10:23 to play but could only manage two field goals after that point.
• For the second straight game, AU finished the game at the free-throw line, going 6-for-6 in the final 41 seconds to clinch the victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• American is 2-0 to start the season for the first time since starting 5-0 during the 2010-11 season.
• AU won the battle in the paint, scoring 40 points to William & Mary's 32 inside the key.
• Connor Nelson had 11 points and six rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.

UP NEXT

• American continues a stretch of games away from Bender Arena with a game against Georgetown on Tuesday, Nov. 16.  
• Tip-off at Capital One Arena is set for 8:30 PM.
• The game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 2.

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).