BALTIMORE, Md. – The American University men's basketball team capitalized on its best defensive performance of the season to defeat Loyola Maryland 66-52 on the road and move to 4-1 in Patriot League play. Junior
Elijah Stephens scored 17 points, making 7-of-8 field goals, to lead the Eagles in scoring.
Notable Numbers
- Stephens scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, making all six of his shot attempts after the break.
- Sophomore Geoff Sprouse added 14 points for the Eagles, including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
- Senior Matt Rogers reached double figures again, scoring 10 points and adding a pair of rebounds.
- Despite making under 31 percent of its three-point attempts, American shot over 58 percent from the field.
- American's bench outscored Loyola's by a 30-11 margin.
- After leading by only two points at halftime, AU outscored Loyola 37-25 in the second half to win by 14.
First Half
- Loyola started the game on a 9-2 run, but the Eagles responded with a run of their own, and a Colin Smalls three-pointer gave AU an 11-10 lead at the 13:18 mark.
- American held Loyola to two points for nearly seven minutes, and the Eagles led by three at the 9:03 mark after a Rogers basket.
- Sprouse was fouled on a three-point shot, making all three of his free throws to give AU a 19-16 lead with seven minutes left in the half.
- American would make four more free throws in the half, also making 3 of their last 4 field goal attempts, to lead 29-27 at the break.
- Sprouse led the Eagles in scoring heading into the locker room with 8 points.
- American made more than 47 percent of their shots in the first half, compared to 42 percent from Loyola.
Second Half
- American used a 7-0 run early in the half to take a 40-34 lead at the 13:45 mark, thanks to a Sprouse three-pointer that got him into double figures scoring.
- After a short Loyola run, another three-pointer from Sprouse broke a 40-40 tie at the 12:02 mark.
- The Eagles continued to respond to the Greyhounds, and Elijah Stephens drove to the basket for a layup to extend the American lead to 8 points with 8:42 left in the game.
- With 6:15 left in the game, Matt Mayock denied a Loyola dunk attempt, and Stephens found Rogers for a wide open slam dunk. AU led 53-45 at that point.
- Later, Stephens finished a beautiful hook shot to give AU a 55-48 lead with 3:56 to play.
- Each team scored only one point over the next minute and a half, as AU still led by seven.
- On a critical possession for the Eagles, Stephens scored, drawing a foul as well and making the free throw to give AU a 10-point lead with two minutes to play.
- Stephens later delivered a final blow for the Greyhounds, taking the ball to the basket again for an 11-point lead with just over a minute to play.
Up Next
- American will take an unusually long break during conference play, using two extra days off before traveling to Lehigh for a 5:00 p.m. tip off on Saturday, January 20.
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