WASHINGTON – The American University men's basketball team will look to keep its two-game win streak alive and complete a season sweep of Loyola Maryland on Wednesday, February 7, at Bender Arena.
The Eagles are coming off an emotional win against Bucknell in overtime, where a shorthanded Eagles team outscored the Bison 12-3 in the extra period. Wednesday will be men's basketball's Sustainability Awareness Game, presented by Official Game Sponsor DAVIS Construction.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Wednesday, February 7; 7:00 p.m.
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 54-51
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing and Gordon Austin
Earlier This Season
- American defeated Loyola Maryland 66-52 at Reitz Arena on Jan. 15. Junior Elijah Stephens led all scorers with 17 points.
- American outscored the Greyhounds by 12 points in the second half.
Inside the Series
- This is the 106th meeting between American and Loyola Maryland, with American leading the series, 54-51.
- American has won three of the last five contests, with two of those wins coming at Bender Arena.
- American boasts a 29-13 record in home contests against the Greyhounds.
What to Know About American
- In its last game, a shorthanded American squad completed a season sweep of Bucknell, outscoring the Bison 12-3 in overtime. Senior Matt Rogers led all scorers with 23 points, adding 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Senior Lorenzo Donadio scored 22 points. The Eagles were without key contributors Jermaine Ballisager Webb, Geoff Sprouse and Colin Smalls. Stephens left the game with an injury just before OT.
- Rogers leads AU and ranks fourth in the PL with 15.8 points per game, adding 6.5 rebounds per game (fourth in PL). For his efforts in last week's wins against Lafayette and Bucknell, Rogers was named Patriot League Player of the Week for the second time this season.
- Stephens leads AU and ranks second in the PL with 5.2 assists per game (43rd nationally). His assist/turnover ratio of 2.2 ranks fourth in the PL, and his 12.2 points per game rank 10th in the PL. Stephens now ranks eighth all-time at AU with 330 career assists.
- 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. AU leads the Patriot League with 9.6 threes per game and ranks second by making 36.3 percent of its threes.
- First-year head coach Duane Simpkins has 13 career victories and has brought a new energy to the program. The Eagles run a faster offense and so far are averaging 7.1 more points per game than in 2022-23, as well as making 3.2 more 3-point field goals per game.
Scouting the Greyhounds
- Loyola Maryland enters Wednesday's game with a 4-19 record, having won two out of their 10 Patriot League contests. The Greyhounds' most recent win came against Navy on Jan. 27 (74-70).
- In its most recent game, Loyola fell at home, 70-67, to Holy Cross. The Greyhounds led by four points at halftime.
- Loyola ranks third in the Patriot League in team offensive rebounds, averaging 9.7 per game.
- Sophomore Deon Perry leads the Greyhounds and ranks second in the PL with 16.4 points per game. His 3.1 assists per game lead the team and rank seventh in the PL.
- Graduate student Golden Dike ranks second in the PL in field goal percentage, making 56.8 percent of his shots. He leads Loyola and ranks second in the PL with 6.7 rebounds per game.
- The Greyhounds are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country, making just 63.5 percent from the charity stripe.
- Head coach Tavaras Hardy is in his sixth season as head coach at Loyola. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, Georgetown and Northwestern. He recruited and coached Loyola's only NBA first round pick, Santi Aldama.
Sustainability Awareness Night
- Wednesday will be men's basketball's Sustainability Awareness Game, presented by Official Game Sponsor DAVIS Construction.
- The game is planned each year by AU Athletics, Facilities Management's Energy & Engineering and Grounds teams and the Office of Sustainability, and is also joined this year by the Office of Parking and Commuter Services. It serves as a tip-off to this year's Campus Race to Zero Waste competition, running now through March 23.
- Attendees will be able to celebrate AU's sustainability accomplishments and efforts across campus by engaging with environmental student organizations.
- Students will be able to enter a raffle for a new electric scooter and rider package valued at over 500 dollars, as well as a weekend night hotel stay at Airlie Hotel and one of three Capital Bikeshare student memberships.
- In addition to DAVIS Construction's presenting sponsorship of the evening, the Eagles also extend appreciation to the following corporations for their support: Airlie Hotel & Conference Center & Airlie Berkshire Farm, Chartwells, Donohoe Construction Company, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Aramark Higher Education, E.C. Ernst Electrical Contractors, Furbish, HBW Construction and Siemens Industries, Inc.
- Click here to view a special video message and invite from AU President Sylvia Burwell, Director of Sustainability Megan Litke, and Men's Basketball head coach Duane Simpkins.
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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