WASHINGTON – Coming off its first win in the Patriot League Championships in six years, American University men's basketball has now won back-to-back games and the 10th-seeded Eagles will travel to second-seeded Navy for a quarterfinal contest in the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Championships on Thursday, March 3. The contest will tip-off at 7 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+.
QUICK INFO
- Date/Time: Thursday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.
- Site: Annapolis, Md. (Alumni Hall)
- Series History: Navy leads, 50-49
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Pete Medhurst (pxp), Mike Heary (analyst)
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Navy has won six straight times in the series including a pair of wins in the 2021-22 regular season. The Eagles came up just short in Annapolis, 47-45 on Jan. 29, while Navy won 55-46 in Bender Arena on Feb. 16.
- The teams met four times in 2020-21 due to the Patriot League's emphasis on regional mini-conferences, and Navy won all four of those contests.
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 25-17 in the PL Tournament, including 6-11 on the road.
- The Eagles' win at Holy Cross on March 1, 2022 was their first tournament win since 2016.
- Mike Brennan is 7-7 in the Patriot League Tournament as head coach at American.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- American is coming off its first win in the Patriot League Championships since 2016, beating Holy Cross 69-63 on the road on Tuesday night.
- All-PL Third Team senior Stacy Beckton Jr. led the Eagles with 23 points and nine reboounds, scoring in double figures for the sixth straight game. Freshman and All-PL Rookie Team honoree Elijah Stephens scored 12 points and dished a career-high eight assists.
- For the first time since at least 2007, the Eagles did not score a three-pointer in their win at Holy Cross, and only attempted three of them. AU dominated in the paint with a 50-28 advantage in points in the paint.
- The Eagles also won their final game of the regular season after jumping out to a 14-0 lead vs. Loyola Maryland. Beckton Jr. also led AU in that one, scoring 22 points, while Johnny O'Neil posted 17 points and tied for team-high honors in rebounds (8) with Lorenzo Donadio.
- With his 23-point effort at Holy Cross, Beckton Jr. is now alone at 26th all-time at AU with 1,177 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 NAVY
- Navy's Ed DeChellis, John Carter Jr., Richard Njoku and Greg Summers received postseason honors from the Patriot League. DeChellis was named the league's coach of the year, Carter received second-team all-league honors and both Njoku and Summers were named to the all-defensive team.
- The 26th player in Navy history to score 1,000 career points, Carter ranks 23rd with 1,129 points. He has scored in double figures in 21 games this season.
- After a four-game win streak in early February, the Mids closed out the season at 2-2 including a 55-50 home loss to Holy Cross.
- Until a 74-69 loss to Colgate to end the regular season, Navy had not allowed an opponent to score more than 55 points in six straight games. The last time that happened was in the first six games of the 1950-51 season.
TICKET INFORMATION
- AU fans and alumni wishing to attend the game at Navy's Alumni Hall should purchase tickets online through the Navy Ticket Office by clicking here, or by calling 800-874-6289.
- Eagle fans wishing to sit with fellow AU supporters may try and purchase tickets in/near sections W & V behind the AU bench.
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.
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