WASHINGTON – American University men's basketball (1-2) defeated William & Mary (1-3), 71-64, on Wednesday night in Bender Arena for the first win of the season. Junior Johnny O'Neil paced American with 17 points helping the Eagles' pick up their third-straight home opener win.
 
QUICK NOTES

• All five starters recorded double figure points in the win. Junior Johnny O'Neil led the way with 17, sophomore Elijah Stephens totaled 14, junior Matt Rogers totaled 12, and both graduate student Jaxon Knotek and freshman Geoff Sprouse totaled 10.
• Sprouse's start marks his first collegiate start.
• American's win is the third-straight home opener victory for the Eagles.
• The Eagles' 71 points was the most scored by the team so far this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• William & Mary won the tip to start the game and drew a foul less than a minute into the first half to send themselves to the free throw line. The Tribe made just one of their two extra shots to take an early 1-0 lead.
• A few minutes later, sophomore Elijah Stephens and junior Johnny O'Neil combined for a 5-0 scoring run to put American in front, 5-1.
• The Tribe broke the Eagles' run with a jumper to put the score at 5-3, and then two extra shots later tied the game 5-5.
• Each side put in a layup and then it was American who was able to take control of the game and put themselves back in the lead.
• With 7:13 left to play in the first half, William & Mary tied up the game once again to put the score at 19-19.
• From there the Tribe jumped out to a 24-21 lead before it was the Eagles who pulled back out in front, 27-26.
• The two sides traded the lead until with 47 seconds to play in the half, freshman Jermaine Ballisager Webb made a jumper to give the Eagles a one-point lead heading into halftime.
• Stephens continued to add to American's lead right away in the second half, putting in a layup to give American a three-point lead.
• The game would be tied seven more times before two extra shots by junior Matt Rogers put the Eagles back out in front and started to give them the momentum to close out the game.
• Graduate student Jaxon Knotek followed up Roger's extra points with a layup to put American's lead out to four.
• A layup by freshman Geoff Sprouse and four good free throws from both O'Neil and Stephens was enough to secure the 71-64 win for the Eagles. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Junior Johnny O'Neil led all scorers with 17 points. He went a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and 4-8 from the field. He added a team-leading five blocks to his stat line.
• American held the 32-28 rebounding advantage. The two sides were even in offensive rebounds, 9-9, while American held the 23-19 defensive rebound advantage.
• The Eagles totaled 12 assists, nine blocks and five steals.
• The game featured 14 ties and 19 lead changes.

UP NEXT

• American returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 19 at NJIT. Game is set for a 4 p.m. tip.
• The Eagles will then stay on the road for an 11:30 a.m. midweek game on Wednesday, Nov. 23 against Georgetown at Capital One Arena.

FOLLOW 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).