BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The American University men's basketball team scored 38 points in the second half, making more than 53 percent of its three-point attempts in the half, but could not overcome a Lehigh offensive attack that included making 18-of-20 free throw attempts. Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the Mountain Hawks in scoring with 27 points.
 
Notable Numbers

• Senior Matt Rogers recorded his third double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and adding 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
•  Junior Elijah Stephens scored 16 points for the Eagles, with 5 assists on the stat sheet as well.
• After making just 25 percent of its threes in the first half, AU made 7-of-13 three-pointers in the second half to keep the game close.
• American outrebounded Lehigh 33-26.
• Whitney-Sidney's 26 points for the Mountain Hawks included making all 10 of his free throw attempts.

First Half

• Freshman Matt Mayock kicked off scoring for AU with a drive to the basket to tie the game at 2 just over a minute into the game.
• With American in a two-minute scoring drought, sophomore Geoff Sprouse knocked down a three-point shot to tie the game at 12 with 13:30 left in the half.
• Rogers made a turnaround jump shot, drawing a foul and converting the free throw to give American the lead, 15-14, with 11:25 to play in the half.
• American traded baskets with Lehigh for most of the half but led only twice for a total of 32 seconds.
• Rogers and senior Lorenzo Donadio led the Eagles in scoring in the first half with 9 points apiece.
• Lehigh went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the opening half.
• American trailed 36-30 heading into the locker room.

Second Half

• With American trailing by 10 early in the second half, Stephens made a three-pointer, followed by a Rogers layup. Then, Stephens made another three, cutting Lehigh's lead to 2 with 14:22 to play.
• Stephens stole the ball from a driving Mountain Hawk, finding Donadio on the fast break for an open layup. Lehigh led 47-44 at the 12:59 mark.
• With Lehigh matching the Eagles, Rogers made a three to keep things close, as American trailed by 4 with 10 minutes left.
• American went scoreless for more than three minutes, allowing Lehigh to extend its lead to 8 with less than eight minutes to play.
• With the Eagles trying to fight back into the game, Mayock knocked down a three-pointer to cut Lehigh's lead to 7 with 4:23 left.
• Rogers made a critical three-pointer and a hook shot to cut Lehigh's lead to 4 points with 1:52 remaining.
• Stephens made a three-pointer with 33 seconds left to keep American alive, trailing 68-65.
• Rogers made a layup to make it a two-point game with 12 seconds left.

Up Next

• American will head home for a pair of games at Bender Arena this week. They'll host Holy Cross on Wednesday, January 24, presented by Official Game Sponsor, AU's Kogod School of Business. Then, on Saturday, January 27, they'll host Colgate for All-Alumni Day. 

Keep Up With Us

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on X (formerly Twitter) (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).