WASHINGTON – Facing its third game in five days, American University men's basketball is looking to get back on track when Holy Cross comes to Bender Arena on Wednesday night.  
 
QUICK INFO 

• Date/Time: Wednesday, January 26, 7:00 p.m. 
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena) 
• Ticket Info: AUEagles.com/Tickets
• Series History: AU leads, 23-22
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Dan Laing (pxp) and Jimmy Patsos (color)

UPDATED COVID PROTOCOLS FOR BENDER ARENA

• In response to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in our region, American University Athletics is announcing increased safety measures for events at Bender Arena.
• Concessions: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, concessions will temporarily not be available to patrons for home events at Bender.
• Eagles Club Hospitality Suite: Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, there will be a temporary pause on all Eagles Club Hospitality operations for men's and women's basketball games.
• These measures are in addition to the ones already in place, which include all patrons wearing masks at all times while inside Bender Arena, and proof of vaccination required prior to entering the gym.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Due to the Patriot League's emphasis on regional divisions a season ago, these two programs haven't met since February 2020.
• The Eagles are winners of four straight games in this series, including an emphatic 90-47 win over the Crusaders in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 29, 2020.
• The 43-point margin of victory was the first 40-point win for American since Dec. 9, 1995, when the Eagles topped Marymount, 123-62. AU's defense recorded 15 steals and held Holy Cross to 28 percent from the field.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• American (5-13, 1-5 PL) dropped its third straight Patriot League game on Monday night, falling to Lafayette, 69-56.
• Matt Rogers led AU with 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss to the Leopards. Since stepping into the starting lineup in late November, Rogers has been up to the task. He leads the conference and currently ranks second in program history by shooting 65.5 percent from the field this season.
• Stacy Beckton Jr. is on milestone watch during his fifth season as an Eagle. He has now played in 104 career games and is 23 points away from becoming the 33rd player to reach 1,000 career points. He currently has 90 career blocks, which ranks ninth in program history. He is two swats away from moving into eighth place on AU's all-time career blocks list and 11 away from being the sixth Eagle with 100 career blocks.
• Elijah Stephens has continued to improve as his rookie campaign rolls along. Since Patriot League play began, he has been dishing dimes at a solid pace. He's averaging 4.3 assists per game in his last three appearances. In conference play, the 5-9 guard averages 9.4 points per game on 54.1 percent shooting.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS

• Holy Cross enters the game with an overall record of 3-14 and an 1-4 mark in the Patriot League. The Crusaders are coming off a 68-65 setback against Bucknell on Saturday, after having their previous three games postponed due to COVID protocols.
• The Crusaders currently rank third in the Patriot League in blocked shots (3.9 blocks per game) and three-point field goal percentage (34.8 percent), while standing fourth in steals (6.8 steals per game).
• Senior forward Gerrale Gates has led the team by averaging 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while hitting 75.8 percent of his foul shots. Freshman guard Kyrell Luc has also been playing well, with averages of 11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. In addition, sophomore guard Judson Martindale has averaged 10.4 points and 4.2 boards per game.

TICKET INFO

• Tickets, starting at just $7 each, are available for purchase for fully vaccinated fans by clicking here.   A limited amount of premium location sideline seats also still remain. Admission is free for AU undergraduate, graduate and WCL students with current AU ID.
• AU Athletics asks that you consider pre-purchasing digital tickets prior to arriving on campus. The ticket office is transitioning to contactless tickets so that we may offer the safest and most effective way to minimize contact upon entry.
• Digital tickets also give fans more control in the management of tickets including the ability to forward/share ticket(s) with friends and family. You may either present digital tickets on a smart phone device or download and pre-print ticket(s) at home with a valid QR code.
• Thank you for your help and cooperation in advancing contactless ticketing for the health and safety of our entire AU community.

AU HOOP TALK WITH COACH BRENNAN, PRESENTED BY 1757 GOLF CLUB

• Check out and watch the newest episode of AU Hoop Talk with Coach Brennan presented by 1757 Golf Club by clicking here.
•  In this week's episode, Coach Brennan talks about how his team has handled the adversity of a constantly-changing schedule the last few weeks.
• All prior show episodes from this season can also be seen archived here.

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+ 

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year. 

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).