The 2021-22 American University men’s basketball season was an up-and-down campaign as the Eagles finished with a 10-22 record, including a 5-13 mark in conference play. 

Stacy Beckton Jr. was named Third Team All-Patriot League for the second time in his career, while Elijah Stephens was named to the All-Patriot League Rookie Team. 

The season started with a 77-73 overtime win against Marist in front of 1,370 fans. The hot start to the season continued with a 74-62 road win against William & Mary, which was Coach Brennan’s 100th career victory as a head coach. 

Beckton Jr. scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win and was named Patriot League Player of the Week for his performance. 

The rest of the non-conference slate was a challenge for American as the Eagles played eight straight games away from Bender Arena and lost seven games in a row. AU righted the ship with back-to-back wins over Saint Francis (PA) and Mount St. Mary’s to pick up some momentum heading into Patriot League play. 

Unfortunately, that momentum was quickly halted due to COVID issues. AU had four games cancelled/postponed in the first two weeks of January and played two games with only 10 players available. 

Elijah Stephens was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after scoring 18 points in his first career start against Lehigh on Jan. 1, 2022. He played almost the entire game as the Eagles played shorthanded. 

American picked up Patriot League wins over Bucknell and Holy Cross before another tough stretch in the beginning of February while dealing with injuries. A highlight in January was Beckton Jr. becoming the 33rd member of AU’s 1,000-point club against Navy on Jan. 29, 2022. 

The Eagles put together their most complete performance of the season in an 83-67 home win over Army on Feb. 19, 2022. In the final game of the regular season, American controlled Loyola Maryland from start to finish in a 65-55 win on Senior Day at Bender Arena. 

AU opened the Patriot League Tournament in the first round at Holy Cross. Without making a 3-pointer, the Eagles topped the Crusaders for the third time this season, 69-63. It was AU’s first win in the postseason since 2016. 

American advanced into the quarterfinals to face second-seeded Navy. The Eagles took a lead at the beginning of the game but faltered in the second half to fall to the Mids, 71-64. 

The Eagles lose a talented senior class, including fifth-year players Beckton Jr. and Marvin Bragg. But the cupboard is not bare as a number of sophomores and freshman earned valuable minutes on the floor in their first full season. Matt Rogers led the conference in field goal percentage for most of the season, while Colin Smalls ranked second on the team in scoring. Johnny O’Neil, the 2021 PL Rookie of the Year, continued his sharpshooting and rebounding prowess and will continue to make an impact.