HAMILTON, N.Y. – Junior
Elijah Stephens made a jump shot with just two seconds remaining to give the American University men's basketball team the lead and the win at Colgate, 66-64.
Colgate had one of the longest winning streaks in the nation with 12 consecutive wins, and the Raiders had already clinched the Patriot League regular season championship entering the game.
Notable Numbers
- Senior Matt Rogers led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points, including four made three-pointers.
- Stephens added 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
- In his first game since February 3, sophomore Geoff Sprouse made four three-pointers on his way to scoring 14 points.
- American made 50 percent of its shots in the second half.
- Colgate made 11-of-17 free throws, compared to just 3-of-6 from American. Further, Colgate's bench outscored American's, 36-14.
- American turned the ball over just nine times in the contest.
First Half
- After Colgate scored the opening basket, a 4-0 run gave the Eagles a 4-2 lead with 17:46 left in the first half.
- After a Colgate run gave the Raiders a nine-point lead, Rogers knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to 16-13 with 11:42 left in the half.
- After missing five games with a head injury, Sprouse scored his first points of the game with a three-pointer to tie the game at 21 with 7:21 left in the half.
- A Colgate run gave the Raiders a 27-23 lead, but Sprouse made another three to cut Colgate's lead to one with 1:47 remaining in the half.
- A three-pointer from Rogers with 16 seconds left in the half cut the deficit to one again, as Colgate led 32-31 heading into the locker rooms.
- Rogers led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points in the half. Sprouse added eight points.
- Colgate made 54 percent of its shots in the half, compared to just 44 percent for American. The Eagles made up some of the deficit by making five three-pointers to combat Colgate's three.
Second Half
- American and Colgate started the half by trading baskets. A jumper from Rogers game American its first lead since early in the game. Later, a driving layup from Stephens gave American a 41-39 lead with 16:06 left in the game.
- American got hot, making 4-of-5 three-pointers, including two more from Sprouse. The Eagles led 50-43 at the 13:28 mark.
- Rogers converted an and-one to extend American's lead to 10 points with 12:31 left in the game.
- Stephens scored a pair of baskets to keep American's lead at eight points. AU led 57-49 with 8:30 left in the game.
- Senior Lorenzo Donadio made a three-pointer on his birthday, and American led 60-49 at the 8:20 mark.
- Senior Lincoln Ball grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to keep the lead at eight points with 3:47 left.
- A basket from Stephens had American's lead at three with 1:48 remaining.
- Donadio missed a pair of free throws with 58 seconds remaining. Colgate scored on the following possession to cut American's lead to one point with 49 seconds to play.
- Colgate made a free throw on the following possession. With 8.7 seconds left, American called a timeout with the game tied at 64.
- With two seconds left, Stephens made a jump shot for the win. American won 66-64.
Up Next
- The Eagles will travel to West Point, N.Y. for their second meeting of the season with Army on Wednesday, February 28, at 4 p.m. Then, the Eagles will return to Bender Arena for Cassell "Hall of Fame Day" Induction and Senior Day, as American hosts Navy on Saturday, March 2, at 2 p.m.
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