WASHINGTON – American University men's basketball battled all night against Patriot League leader Colgate but the Raiders proved too strong on Saturday, pulling away late to top the Eagles, 86-68.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• For the majority of the first half, American answered every Colgate bucket with one of their own.
• Jaxon Knotek tied the game at 24 on a triple with 6:51 remaining in the first half.
• After that basket, Josh Alexander was whistled for his second foul and took a seat on the bench. With Alexander out, Colgate quickly put together a 10-0 run over 2:09 to take a commanding ten-point lead.
• The Raiders went into the locker room with a 40-28 lead.
• In the second half, American methodically worked its way back into the game. Matt Delaney made a putback layup after Colin Smalls initially missed, which put the Eagles within five points with 12:31 to play.
• The Eagles couldn't get any closer than that. Colgate closed the game on a 14-5 run to win, 86-68.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Johnny O'Neil finished with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, his best performance since Dec. 8 against Saint Francis (PA) when he put up 22 points.
• Colgate shot 65.4 percent on the night, including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc.
• American only committed six turnovers, which is a season-low.

UP NEXT

• American begins a three-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 9 against Bucknell at 7 PM.
• The Eagles will return to Bender Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 16 against Navy. Tip-off is set for 7 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.

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).