Elijah Stephens driving in for a basket
Robert Blakley
55
Harvard HU 1-2,0-0 Ivy League
67
Winner American Americ 1-1,0-0 Patriot
Harvard HU
1-2,0-0 Ivy League
55
Final
67
American Americ
1-1,0-0 Patriot
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Harvard HU 25 30 55
American Americ 35 32 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Beats Harvard 67-55 in Front of a Packed House in Bender Arena

WASHINGTON – Leading from start to finish, the American University men's basketball team looked strong in a home-opening win over Harvard, 67-55, in front of a packed crowd of 3,319 in Bender Arena. The Eagles were led by four players who reached double figures in scoring, including grad student Colin Smalls with 16 points and junior Geoff Sprouse with 15 points.

Also in attendance to make for an exciting atmosphere was former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, who are personal friends of Harvard coach Tommy Amaker.
 
Notable Numbers
  • Smalls hit 4-of-4 free throws, 2-of-2 shots from long range, and 5-of-7 from the field overall. He also dished three assists and pulled down five boards.
  • Four of the Eagles' nine three-pointers were scored by Sprouse, who went 4-for-7 from long range on his way to 15 points.
  • Sophomore Greg Jones scored 11 points and senior Elijah Stephens added 10 in his first game of the season while also posted a game-high five assists.
  • Grad student Matt Rogers led AU with seven rebounds while scoring six points.
  • American hit 14-of-17 free throws (82.4 percent) and shot 44 percent from the field.
First Half
  • The Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead in front of the home crowd, and never trailed in the contest.
  • Sprouse's second three-pointer gave AU a nine-point lead, 20-11, and the Eagles matched that margin at 26-17 with 3:30 left in the half.
  • The Crimson cut the margin to five under the two-minute mark, but a Smalls trey at 44 seconds put it back at eight.
  • Stephens sank a pair of free throws in the final second for AU's largest lead of the game at halftime, 35-25.
Second Half
  • Harvard came within no fewer than five points in the second half, and did so only in the first two minutes.
  • The first of back-to-back threes for Sprouse at 16:29 and 15:56 gave AU a 10-point lead, and it remained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
  • Freshman Eric Michaels made a strong move under the basket for a 47-35 lead at 12:07.
  • Near the 7-minute mark, Jones made a trey for a 20-point AU lead, 58-38.
  • From there, the Crimson battled to get back within 13, the Eagles were solid at the stripe to hold them off.
  • AU hit just one field goal in the final three minutes, but the final margin of 12 was the closest Harvard got in the last 10 minutes of the contest.

Up Next
  • The Eagles will be on the road for their next six games. First up is a 7 p.m. contest at Siena on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
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