WASHINGTON – The American University men's basketball team will look to rebound from a close loss at home on Wednesday as it travels to Worcester, Massachusetts, for a Patriot League rematch against Holy Cross.
 
Quick Info

• Date/Time: Saturday, February 10; 2 p.m.
• Site: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center Arena)
• Series History: American leads, 28-23
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Kevin Gehl and Jacob VanRyn

Earlier This Season

• American defeated Holy Cross 84-65 on Jan. 24 at Bender Arena. Elijah Stephens scored 19 points for AU, while Matt Mayock added 16 and Matt Rogers scored 14.
• American outscored the Crusaders by 12 points in the second half. 

Inside the Series

• This is the 52nd meeting between American and Holy Cross, with American leading the series, 28-23.
• American has won four of the last five contests, with three of those wins coming in Worcester, Mass.
• American has won five games in a row at the Hart Center Arena. The last time Holy Cross beat American in Worcester was Feb. 2018.

What to Know About American

• Missing four of its seven leading scorers with injuries, American fell short in its last game, a 44-43 loss to Loyola Maryland. Trailing by as many as 13 points, the Eagles were able to take the lead late in the game, but could not overcome a 2-of-25 night shooting from beyond the arc.
• Senior Matt Rogers leads AU and ranks fourth in the PL with 15.6 points per game, adding 6.6 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.
• Junior Elijah Stephens leads AU and ranks second in the PL with 5.2 assists per game (42nd 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 missed the Loyola Maryland game 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. AU leads the Patriot League with 9.3 threes per game.
• 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 5.9 more points per game than in 2022-23, as well as making 2.9 more 3-point field goals per game.

Scouting the Crusaders

• Holy Cross enters Saturday's game with a 7-17 record, having won four of its 11 Patriot League contests.
• In its last game, Holy Cross fell on the road to Lafayette, 75-59. Senior Bo Montgomery and freshman Kahlil Singleton led the way for the Crusaders with 10 points apiece. Junior Caleb Kenney grabbed 10 rebounds for Holy Cross.
• Senior Joe Octave leads the Crusaders in scoring and ranks sixth in the PL with 14.3 points per game, adding 6.0 rebounds per game. Octave has played just 17 minutes over the Crusaders' last three games as he deals with an injury.
• Kenney adds 11.0 points per game, as well as 6.2 rebounds. He ranks second in the PL in field goal percentage, making 56.7 percent of his shots.
• Head coach Dave Paulsen is in his first season as head coach at Holy Cross. Prior to joining the Crusaders, he was the head coach at George Mason and spent seven years at Bucknell, where he was named Patriot League Coach of the Year three times. During his time at Bucknell he went 134-94 overall, making Patriot League history by leading the Bison to three straight regular season titles.

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).