WASHINGTON – Tournament time has arrived for American University men's basketball, and the 10th-seeded Eagles will travel to seventh-seeded Holy Cross for a first round game in the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Championships on Tuesday, March 1. The contest will tip-off at 7 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+.

QUICK INFO 

• Date/Time: Tuesday, March 1, 7:00 p.m. 
• Site: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center) 
• Series History: AU leads, 25-22 
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Kevin Gehl (pxp)

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Eagles are winners of six 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.
• This season, AU won 67-49 at home and 60-54 on the road.
• The 43-point margin of victory in 2020 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.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• American joined the Patriot League starting in the 2001-02 season.
• CHAMPIONSHIPS - 2008, 2009, 2014
• FINALS - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2015
• SEMIFINALS - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
• AU is 24-17 in the PL Tournament, including 5-11 on the road.
• The Eagles are looking for their first tournament win since 2016.
• Mike Brennan is 6-7 in the Patriot League Tournament as head coach at American.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN

• American (9-21, 5-13) won its final game but got the No. 10 seed in a tiebreaker with Bucknell. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead vs. Loyola Maryland and led by as many as 23 in the second half.
• In the first half, American out-shot Loyola Maryland 61 percent to 21 percent. For the game, the Eagles out-rebounded the Greyhounds 36-25, and they made 13-of-14 free throws.
• Four players scored in double figures on Saturday, led by Stacy Beckton Jr. with 22 points in his fifth straight double-digit scoring effort. Colin Smalls has reached double figures in four straight games, scoring 10 points vs. Loyola Maryland. Johnny O'Neil posted 17 points and tied for team-high honors in rebounds (8) with Lorenzo Donadio.
• American had two All-Patriot League honorees in Beckton Jr. (All-PL Third Team) and Elijah Stephens (All-PL Rookie Team). It was the fifth career honor for Beckton Jr. who was also Third Team in 2019-20 and was All-Defensive in both 2019-20 and 2020-21.
• With 22 points vs. Loyola Maryland, Beckton Jr. moved into a tie for 26th all-time at AU with 1,154 career points. Additionally, he currently has 99 career blocks, which ranks fifth in program history. He is one swat away from being the sixth Eagle with 100 career blocks.   

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS

• Holy Cross (9-21, 7-11 PL) had a tough end to the season with three straight losses and losses in five of the last six games as well.
• Holy Cross currently leads the conference in blocked shots (3.7 blocks per game). Five Crusaders have reached double figures in blocks for the season, led by Caleb Kenney's 28 blocks.
• Senior forward Gerrale Gates has led the team by averaging 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while hitting 73.6 percent of his foul shots. Freshman guard Kyrell Luc has also been playing well, with averages of 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. In addition, sophomore guard Bo Montgomery has averaged 8.8 points and 2.8 boards per game.
• Brett Nelson is in his third season as the head coach at Holy Cross 2021-22 and has gone 17-61 in his time with the Crusaders.

2021-22 ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORS

• Senior Stacy Beckton Jr. was named to the All-Patriot League Third Team, while freshman Elijah Stephens was named to the All-Patriot League Rookie Team.
• For Beckton Jr., it's his third year earning postseason recognition from the PL. He was also named to the Third Team in 2019-20, and was named to the All-Defensive Team in both 2019-20 and 2020-21. This season, he leads the Eagles with 13.4 points per game which ranks 10th in the league. With 22 points vs. Loyola Md. on Feb. 26, he moved into a tie for 26th all-time at AU with 1,154 career points.
• Stephens has had a tremendous rookie season, leading the Eagles with 70 assists (2.41 per game) and ranking sixth on the team with 6.1 points per game. After a New Year's Day performance that saw him score a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his first career start vs. Lehigh, he was named the Patriot League's Rookie of the Week.

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).