WASHINGTON – Looking for a sixth straight win that would be the program's longest conference streak since 2013-14, the American University men's basketball team heads to Lafayette (8-13, 3-5) for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The Eagles (12-9, 6-2) are fresh off an exciting, 81-77 win over Colgate that moved AU into a tie with the Raiders for the top spot in the Patriot League standings.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Wednesday, January 29; 7 pm
- Site: Easton, Pa. (Kirby Sports Center)
- Series History: AU leads, 40-32
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Gary Laubach, John Leone
Inside the Series
- This will be the 73rd meeting between American and Lafayette, with AU leading 40-32.
- Lafayette has won three of the last five contests, including a double-overtime thriller in the 2023 Patriot League semifinals.
- Last season, the Eagles edged the Leopards in Easton, 69-66, but lost 68-62 at home despite three players scoring in double figures (Matt Rogers with 17, Matt Mayock with 16, and Lincoln Ball with 10).
What to Know About American
- After winning its fifth straight game and snapping Colgate's five-game win streak, American sits atop the Patriot League standings in a tie with the Raiders at 6-2. The Eagles won two thrillers at home in Bender Arena last week, getting a buzzer-beating victory over Lehigh and prevailing against Colgate in a second half that saw seven ties and 13 lead changes. AU is now 7-1 at home, while Patriot League teams overall are 30-10 at home.
- Graduate student Matt Rogers, the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year, was named the PL's Player of the Week on Monday for the fourth time in his career. Rogers scored a game-high 26 points against Colgate, and ranks third in the PL with 16.4 points per game. Rogers is just the fourth player in program history with both 1,500 points and 500 rebounds, now with 1,615 points (eighth all-time) and 683 rebounds (12th all-time).
- With a win at Lafayette, AU would match its longest conference win streak (six games) since the 2013-14 season that saw the Eagles go 20-13 overall and 13-5 in the PL on their way to winning their third PL Championship in program history. AU leads the Patriot League in free-throw percentage (.760) and ranks second in scoring defense (69.8). In PL games, AU has hit an impressive 116-of-144 free throws (.806).
- Senior guard Elijah Stephens is the fourth player in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points and 400 assists. He ranks 31st with 1,046 points, and seventh with 420 assists. Stephens has zero turnovers in the past two games, and in three of the last four. In PL games only, Stephens ranks second with 4.6 assists per game and second with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.5.
- The Eagles' free-throw shooting has been a key element of their success. Four AU players rank in the Patriot League's top eight in free-throw percentage, with Greg Jones ranking second (.870), Elijah Stephens ranking fourth (.846), Colin Smalls ranking fifth (.810), and Matt Rogers ranking eighth (.762). Jones has only missed 10 free throws all season, going 67-of-77 from the line in 21 games played.
What to Know About Lafayette
- Lafayette comes into Wednesday's game having lost three of its last four. Returning home should provide a boost for the Leopards, who are 6-3 at the Kirby Sports Center thus far this season, while going just 2-10 on the road.
- Two of Lafayette's three Patriot League wins – over Boston University and Holy Cross - have come at home.
- Senior center Justin Vander Bean leads the Leopards with 12.1 points per game. He also pulls down a team-best 6.2 rebounds a contest. Alex Chaikin, a freshman guard, has made an immediate impact as the only other Lafayette player averaging double figures. He is putting up 11.4 a game and has earned a spot in the starting lineup over the last nine contests.
- Only one player – sophomore guard Mark Butler, who is dishing out 3.0 assists a game – has started all 21 games so far this year.
- Mike McGarvey is in his second full season at the helm in Easton after taking over late in the 2022-23 season. That year, with just two regular season games as a Division I head coach under his belt, he brought the Leopards to the Patriot League championship game. Last year, Lafayette finished tied for second in the conference.
Best Patriot League Start in 10 Years
- The Eagles' 6-2 start to Patriot League play is their best in 10 years, since the 2013-14 team won 10 straight games to open league play. That team finished 13-5 overall in the PL and went on to win the program's third Patriot League Championship.
- It has been a strong turnaround since AU started the PL season this year at 1-2, including a 23-point loss at Navy in the Eagles' conference opener on January 2.
- With one more win, AU will also match the longest conference win streak since that 2013-14 season.
Buzzer Beater in Bender
- Trailing by seven points with less than 30 seconds left, the Eagles pulled off an improbable victory against Lehigh on Jan. 22.
- Only one more point was scored by Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks went just 1-for-4 at the line in the remaining time.
- Meanwhile, sophomore Greg Jones hit 4-of-4 free throws and sophomore Matt Mayock made it a one-point game with 10 seconds left when he hit his second three-pointer.
- Aggressive defense on Lehigh's inbounds pass paid off, as Ball came up with the steal in a jump-ball situation that favored AU and gave the Eagles the ball back with six seconds left.
- The drawn play didn't go as planned with Rogers nearly losing the ball out of bounds, but he found Ball just outside the paint, and Ball found the bottom of the net with his floating jumper as time expired for a 68-67 win.
Make Your Free Throws
- AU's team free-throw percentage is strong, and the Eagles lead the PL at .760 after hitting 9-of-9 at Virginia, 15-of-17 against Holy Cross, 12-of-13 at BU, and 14-of-16 on the road at Holy Cross.
- Sophomore Greg Jones (2nd, .870), senior Elijah Stephens (4th, .846), and grad student Colin Smalls (5th, .810) all rank in the top five in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage.
- Greg Jones hit 24 free throws in a row from Nov. 23 to Jan. 2, including an 8-of-8 performance in the OT win over GW on Dec. 4.
Big Man Can Shoot
- While a player like Matt Rogers would often be dominant primarily inside, Rogers has made himself versatile to the point that he leads American in three-pointers made this season with 35.
- His 1.7 three-pointers made per game rank 11th in the Patriot League, and that number shoots up to 2.4 threes per game for PL games only, ranking him fourth.
- Rogers' overall three-point field-goal percentage of .412 ranks 11th in the PL, while his conference-only percentage of .528 ranks fourth.
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