WASHINGTON – The American University men's basketball team looks for a season sweep of Lafayette in a pivotal Patriot League matchup at Bender Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. With a win, the Eagles would move into a tie for second place in the League with the Leopards.
Saturday is American's Mental Health Awareness Game.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Saturday, February 17; 4 p.m.
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 40-31
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing and Gordon Austin
Inside the Series
- This will be the 72nd meeting between American and Lafayette, with American leading 40-31.
- Lafayette has won three out of the last five contests, including a double-overtime thriller in the 2023 Patriot League semifinals.
Earlier This Season …
- American and Lafayette met on January 31, in Easton, Pa., with the Eagles coming out on top, 69-66.
- The game served as the real start of American's injury woes. Sophomore Jermaine Ballisager Webb did not play. Sophomore Geoff Sprouse and senior Colin Smalls both left the game with injuries in the first half and have not played since.
- Matt Rogers led all scorers with 23 points, adding 8 rebounds. Junior Elijah Stephens added 19 points and 5 assists.
What to Know About American
- Missing four of its seven leading scorers with injuries, American relied on a stifling defense to earn a 59-42 victory at Navy. Senior Matt Rogers led all scorers with 25 points, and senior Lincoln Ball recorded his first career double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. American is giving up an average of 48 points per game over its last three games.
- Rogers leads AU and ranks third in the PL with 16.1 points per game, adding 6.2 rebounds per game (fifth in PL). Rogers has reached double-figures scoring in all but three games played this season. In the Navy game, Rogers was the only Eagle to score for a 17-minute stretch.
- Junior Elijah Stephens leads AU and ranks second in the PL with 5.2 assists per game. His assist/turnover ratio of 2.2 ranks third in the PL, and his 12.2 points per game rank 10th in the PL. Stephens has missed the last three games with an injury.
- American has made 10 or more three-pointers 11 times this season. The Eagles are 9-2 in games where they reach double-digit makes from three, but have failed to reach the mark since Feb. 3. AU leads the Patriot League with 9.2 threes per game.
- First-year head coach Duane Simpkins has 14 career victories and has brought a new energy to the program. American has already surpassed its Patriot League win total from last season with five regular season conference games remaining.
Scouting the Leopards
- Lafayette enters Saturday's game with a 10-16 record overall, but having won nine of their 13 Patriot League contests, the Leopards are in second place in the conference.
- Despite not winning a single game against a Division I opponent in its nonconference schedule, Lafayette started conference play by rattling off seven wins in a row.
- In its last game, Lafayette fell at home to Loyola Maryland, 79-64. The Leopards lost their previous game in double overtime at Lehigh in "The Rivalry," 94-90. They'll play Lehigh again on Feb. 24.
- The Leopards rank second in the Patriot League in field goal defense, allowing opponents to make just 41.6 percent of their shots, and blocked shots, blocking 4.31 per game.
- Eric Sondberg leads Lafayette in scoring with 9.4 points per game. Devin Hines adds 9.3 points per game. Sondberg scored 12 points in the first meeting this year, while Hines led Lafayette with 17 points.
- Junior Justin Vander Baan ranks 17th in the country, blocking 2.527 shots per game. He adds 9.0 points per game. Vander Baan did not block any shots in the Leopards' first meeting with AU.
- Mike McGarvey is in his first full season as head coach after taking over as acting head coach for five games last season. He led the Leopards to the PL championship game as acting head coach.
AU Student-Athlete Advisory Council to Host Food Drive
- As an extension of the Patriot League's "I Make My Voice Heard" campaign, members of AU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will join forces with TEAM AU Corporate Partner Wegmans—hosting and staffing collection stations for donations of canned and non-perishable food items from attendees at all AU home sporting events through March 2nd in support of AU's The Market food pantry, helping to combat and assist those AU students affected by food insecurity.
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