WASHINGTON - Behind a career-high 22 points from senior guard
Lorenzo Donadio, the American University men's basketball team edged Mount St. Mary's, 68-65, to remain undefeated on its home court in Bender Arena so far this season. The Eagles trailed by as many as 12 in the first half but used a 16-1 second-half run to take the lead for good.
Notable Numbers
- Donadio went 5-for-7 from long range in breaking his previous career high by 12 points, and hit 8-of-11 from the field overall.
- Sophomore Geoff Sprouse scored 11 points and senior Matt Rogers also finished in double figures with 10.
- Five Eagles totaled at least four rebounds in a balanced effort on the boards, led by freshman Greg Jones with six.Â
- Five of Jones' boards came on the offensive glass, leading to five second-chance points of his own and five scored by others.
- With 11 three-pointers made, the Eagles now average 9.3 made threes per game which is 1.3 more than the second-place team in the Patriot League and three more than AU averaged a season ago.
First Half
- The game got off to a tough start for the Eagles, who quickly fell into a 9-0 hole after the Mount hit four of its first five shots from the field.
- Mount St. Mary's matched its nine-point lead four more times before AU finally got going, following up two three-pointers with a layup and free throw from Jones.
- The 9-0 AU run put the Eagles within three, 18-15 at the 12-minute mark, but the Mount pushed the pace again and built an 11-point, 32-21 lead just past the five-minute mark.
- Still down 10 with 2:24 left in the half, AU found some success in the closing minutes with a pair of threes from Donadio and senior Lincoln Ball.
- The final bucket of the half came from the Mountaineers, who took a 39-33 lead into the break.
Second Half
- Donadio hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the second half, setting the tone for what would be a career performance the rest of the way.
- The Eagles would still have work to do after the Mount went back up by eight, 47-39 at 15:39, but the run ended there.
- Back-to-back Donadio treys, his fourth and fifth of the game, started what became 16-1 run that put AU on top by seven, 55-48 near the 10-minute mark.
- Sprouse also caught fire from long range, hitting a pair of threes in the run that got him to double digits for the game.
- Mount St. Mary's tied the score once at 55-55 after a 7-0 run, but never took the lead.
- The Eagles' lead was never more than four in the final six minutes, but they did enough to hold off the Mountaineers.
- An offensive rebound by Jones that led to a layup by Ball off a Jones assist at 1:45 proved to be a crucial play as it put AU up by four.
- The Eagles held the Mount without a field goal the rest of the way, and 3-of-4 free throws were not enough for Mount St. Mary's to catch up despite AU hitting just 2-for-4.
Next Up
- American will play another game at home this week, hosting Hood College at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26.
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