WASHINGTON – Looking to snap its three-game skid, American University men's basketball (15-11, 7-8 PL) welcomes the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (14-12, 9-6 PL) to Bender Arena Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks won the first meeting earlier this season but have also dropped their last three games heading into the weekend. Saturday is senior day, and seniors
Jaxon Knotek and
Ben Lubarsky, as well as student manager Zach Coopersmith will be honored prior to the start of the game.
QUICK FACTS
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18; 2:00 PM
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: Lehigh leads, 31-28
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing and Gordon Austin
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Lehigh leads the all-time series, 31-28, while American leads the series at home 15-10.
- American has dropped its last three games against the Mountain Hawks. The Eagles' last win over Lehigh was on Jan. 27, 2020 in D.C.
- Lehigh has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two programs dating back to 2016.
- Saturday's contest is the second meeting of the season between American and Lehigh. Lehigh won the first matchup, 78-62, in Bethlehem. Sophomore Elijah Stephens led the Eagles in scoring with 14 points and junior Johnny O'Neil led the team in rebounds with 10.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN
- American enters Saturday's game with a 7-8 mark in Patriot League play.
- The Eagles are coming off a 73-51 loss to Bucknell on Monday night in Lewisburg for a third-straight loss. Junior Matt Rogers led the team in scoring with 20 points while O'Neil led in rebounds with eight.
- American is led by Rogers, averaging 13.1 points per game, and O'Neil averaging 10.6 points per game. O'Neil leads the Patriot League in rebounds with 1.6 per game and Rogers is ninth in the league in scoring.
- With his two blocks in Monday's game, junior Johnny O'Neil now has 82 career blocks and 37 blocks this season. He is just nine blocks away from moving into a tie for ninth all-time on the AU all-time career blocks list in the record books with Patrick Doctor.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT LEHIGH
- Lehigh enters Saturday's game with a 9-6 mark in league play. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 75-64 loss to Navy on Wednesday for their third consecutive loss. Senior Evan Taylor and sophomore Keith Higgins Jr. led the Mountain Hawks with 14 points each.
- Three Mountain Hawks lead the team in scoring. Higgins Jr. leads with 14.8 points per game while Taylor and sophomore Tyler Whitney-Sidney are averaging 14.4 points per game and 13.2 points per game, respectively.
- Lehigh leads the league in defensive rebounds with 26.5 per game. All three of Lehigh's top scorers are in the top-10 in the league with Higgins Jr. third, Taylor tied for fifth and Whitney-Sidney eighth overall.
- The Mountain Hawks are led by Dr. Brett Reed in his 16th season at the head of the program.
SENIOR DAY
- Prior to Saturday's game, the Eagles will honor seniors Jaxon Knotek, Ben Lubarsky and student manager Zach Coopersmith in a pregame ceremony.
- Fans are encouraged to arrive early to help celebrate the senior class.
TICKETS
- Season tickets, mini-plans and individual game tickets for home games in Bender Arena in premium seating locations are still at AUeagles.com/Tickets.
- AU students are admitted FREE with a valid undergraduate, graduate, or WCL ID.
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