LEWISBURG, Pa. – Playing its fourth game in seven days, the American University men's basketball team put together one of its most complete games of the season, pulling away late to top Bucknell on Saturday afternoon, 78-71.
QUICK NOTABLES
- Despite struggling shooting from the field, Jamir Harris led AU with 19 points, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also matched his career-high with eight assists.
- After returning from injury on Wednesday, Stacy Beckton Jr. was back to his early-season form, scoring 17 points and adding three rebounds.
- Matt Rogers (12 points) and Ben Lubarsky (10 points) reached new season-highs in scoring. Rogers made his first five field goals, including the first 3-pointer of his career.
- Connor Nelson was relentless on the glass all afternoon, picking up a career-high 12 rebounds. The junior added six points and three steals.
- The win in Sojka Pavilion was American's first since Jan. 2, 2014. It's also only the third time AU has topped the Bison in Sojka Pavilion since the arena opened in 2003.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- American took early leads at 3-2 and 6-4, but Bucknell held a slim advantage through most of the half.
- Bucknell's largest lead of the game came after a 3-pointer from Miles Latimer with 7:48 left put the Bison on top, 22-15.
- AU responded and took its first lead on a Ben Lubarsky 3-point play with 1:39 left in the half. A layup from Matt Rogers on the next possession closed out an 8-0 Eagle run.
- Bucknell tied the game up at 35 apiece heading into halftime with a 3-point play of its own from Andrew Funk.
- Out of the locker room, American avoided the slumps that have plagued them the last few games. After falling down by four, the Eagles rattled off a 9-0 run to take a 49-44 lead with 13:29 left in the game.
- The Eagles only trailed once in the final 16:27, but the lead was never comfortable.
- Beckton Jr. put American up by 7 with 4:13 left, but a scoreless drought over the next two minutes allowed Bucknell to cut the deficit to one with 1:49 remaining.
- Harris scored on a layup with 1:29 to put AU on top, 72-69. A huge block on the other end by Rogers on the ensuing possession kept the lead at three.
- Back-to-back offensive rebounds with less than a minute left and clutch free-throw shooting from Beckton Jr. and Harris (6-of-6 in final 20 seconds) helped AU emerge victorious, 78-71.
WHAT COACH MIKE BRENNAN SAID
Overall thoughts on the game
- "Everybody contributed. We had 17 assists and 12 turnovers. So, we were sharing the ball and moving the ball. Obviously, [John] Meeks and [Andre] Screen not being in there helps, but overall, I thought our guys came ready, shared the ball, and competed. Great road win."
On playing someone other than Loyola and Navy for the first time this season
- "It was good to see different faces, different sets, and different styles. And on defense, having to stop different things you haven't seen. It was a good test. I thought we adjusted well."
On avoiding a second-half slump and finding a rhythm with all the games being played in the last week
- "I think they're growing. Last week, we had two full practices. Now, we've had some games and you can consider the games practices leading up to this, where you're running around and playing basketball for two hours. It gets you ready and gets you in shape. So, they're not re-shocked by how hard [college basketball] is. It's in the back of their mind and they have that immediate memory of the game. I think they were able to push through a little bit."
On Jamir Harris struggling from the field, but still impacting the game
- "Jamir is always ready. He's in phenomenal shape. He's been playing his whole life. So, he has a mindset to always be ready. Not shooting well, not making threes, that doesn't affect whether he can be a good player. He still had 19 points, a bunch of assists, he defended. He's continuing to become a complete player."
On other players, specifically younger guys, stepping up on the offensive end
- "They just needed experience and reps. They need to play. Each time, Ben [Lubarsky] comes back after a game and you talk to him, 'Hey, can you do these things better?' He comes back and he's ready and he's continually improving. It sounds crazy since it's the end of the year, but all we need is to be on the court playing and getting better. All of these guys can contribute. Matt Rogers gave us great minutes at the center spot today, too."
BY THE NUMBERS
- There were 11 lead changes and seven ties in this back-and-forth contest. AU held a lead for 18:39 while Bucknell was on top for 18:09.
- AU won the points in the paint battle, scoring 28 compared to 22 for Bucknell.
- In the second half, American shot 52 percent from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range, compared to 39.3 percent and 4-of-11 from 3-point range for Bucknell.
- Although the turnovers were relatively even between both teams, AU was able to capitalize on Bucknell's mistakes. The Eagles scored 16 points off turnovers, compared to seven for the Bison.
UP NEXT
- The Eagles will host Bucknell in the final game of the regular season tomorrow at 4 p.m.
- The first round of the Patriot League tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, March 3. The quarterfinals are slated for Saturday, March 6. Seeding will be finalized after all Patriot League contests conclude tomorrow.
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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