WASHINGTON - Behind 28 points and 11 rebounds from senior Matt Rogers, the American University men's basketball team took a stranglehold on the game late in the first frame and never relinquished control in an 87-73 win over the visiting NJIT Highlanders. The win puts the Eagles back at .500 for the season and gives the team a clean sheet at Bender Arena with a second straight win.

Notable Numbers

• Rogers posted a season-high point and rebound total with his 28 points, shooting 12-of-18, and capping a double-double with his 11 boards.
• Senior guard Colin Smalls got involved early with eight points in the first half before finishing with 11 total.
• Junior guard Elijah Stephens matched Smalls with 11 points while providing a team-high eight assists that also tied his career high.
• With eight rebounds, senior guard Lincoln Ball tied his career high from his freshman season with GW, and he dished six assists for a new career high as well.
• The Eagles got 10 points each from senior guard Lorenzo Donadio and sophomore guard Geoff Sprouse. Donadio also notched four assists and three boards.
• American never surrendered the lead after going up with 5:28 left in the first half. The Eagles led for 28:11 of the 40-minute contest.
• AU hit 13 three-pointers in the game, its most since going 14-of-34 against VMI in December of 2022.

First Half

• Freshman forward Matt Mayock was the first to score for the Eagles, giving American a 3-2 lead 1:11 into the game.
• American kept NJIT on its heels, firing from long range early and often. The Eagles went 4-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes, with Sprouse hitting on back-to-back shots 20 seconds apart in the eighth minute to give the Eagles a 16-14 lead.
• Ball knotted the score at 23 apiece at the 7:37 mark with a long three for his first points of the game. Ball controlled the boards early on for the Eagles with four rebounds in the half.
• Donadio kicked off a 13-2 American run at the 5:28 mark, knocking down a three-pointer before Rogers put the emphasis on the Eagles' offensive effort as he backed down a defender and picked up a contested bucket and subsequent trip to the charity stripe.
• While the Eagles led by as many as eight, NJIT was able to keep within striking distance in the waning minutes of the frame.
• Each team vied for control throughout the half which featured nine lead changes. American held the lead for the last 5:38 of the half.
• Rogers paced the Eagles through the half as he finished with a team-high 16 points, while Smalls added another eight points to help the Eagles lead 45-39 going into the break.

Second Half

• American kept NJIT at bay as the Eagles maintained their lead for the entirety of the half.
• The Eagles racked up nearly a third of their second-half points from the charity stripe with sophomore center Jermaine Ballisager Webb scoring half of his eight points from the mark. American drew 13 fouls through the half while only committing seven.
• AU controlled the paint through the half, out-rebounding the Highlanders 23-11.
• American capped a flurry of shots from beyond the three-point line with another five in the half, going 5-of-13.

Next Up

• The Eagles travel a couple of neighborhoods away to face crosstown rival Georgetown on Sunday, Nov. 19, for a 4:30 p.m. match-up on FS2. American will return for a two-game homestand against Mount St. Mary's (Md.) on Nov. 22 and Hood College on Nov. 26.

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• 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).