WASHINGTON – American University men's basketball put together a complete performance in its return to Bender Arena, topping a scrappy Saint Francis squad 83-73 on Wednesday night.

QUICK NOTABLES

• American shot the lights out from 3-point range, matching a season-high with 10 triples. The Eagles shot 66.7 percent from deep, which is tied for fourth in program history and is AU's best performance since shooting 78.6 percent from long range on Jan. 22, 2014.
• Johnny O'Neil led the 3-point rampage, draining all five of his attempts from beyond the arc. He went for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 from the field, adding five rebounds and a block.
• Colin Smalls was 8-of-13 from the field with 20 points and added a team-high four assists to his stat sheet.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Saint Francis got on the board first but O'Neil responded with his first trey to give AU an early 3-2 lead.
• It was back-and-forth in the early going before an 11-0 American run pushed the Eagles to their largest lead of the game at 26-14 with 10:29 left in the half.
• The Red Flash kept chipping away at the deficit and the Eagles headed into intermission with a narrow 43-40 lead after Marvin Bragg scored right before the buzzer.
• American struggled to contain Josh Cohen all night. In the second half, he scored six straight points to cap off an 8-0 Saint Francis run that gave them their last lead at 53-51 with 14:03 to play.
• The Eagles took the lead right back but were never comfortable down the stretch. A 3-point play from O'Neil that saw the ball roll all the way around the rim and in gave AU a six-point lead with 3:16 to play.
• Stacy Beckton Jr. delivered the dagger with 1:19 remaining as he hit a long triple as the shot clock expired to push American to an eight-point advantage.
• The Eagles went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute to ice AU's first win since Nov. 12.

BY THE NUMBERS

• 83 points is the most scored by the Eagles this season. The previous high was 79 against both Duquesne and Western Carolina.
• AU also set new season-highs for points in the paint (42) and second-chance points (16).
• Connor Nelson had his best performance of the season in 36 minutes of action. He had season-highs in both points (12) and rebounds (seven), while matching a career-high with two blocks.

UP NEXT

• American will head back on the road to take on another NEC foe in Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.
• Tip-off in Emmitsburg is set for 4 PM and will be broadcast on WDVM-TV in the DC market.
• The Eagles will return to Bender Arena for a three-game homestand beginning on Dec. 28 against Siena at 2 PM.
• Tickets to this game and all remaining AU Men's Basketball home games are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here.

HOLIDAY 3-PACK TICKET PLAN NOW AVAILABLE

• This holiday season treat yourself or give the gift of AU Hoops by purchasing AU Basketball's "Holiday 3-Pack" Ticket Mini-Plans! 
• Just $20 for women's, and $50 for men's basketball, you get a sideline ticket to any three women's or three men's home games of your choice this December or January.
• Shopping for Eagle fans on your holiday list has never been easier. Purchase this money-saving, limited-time special offer now through Dec. 24 at AUeagles.com/Tickets!

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).