WASHINGTON – The first Patriot League home contest of 2024-25 for American University men's basketball has the Eagles hosting Holy Cross at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5. AU looks to halt a four-game skid, while the Crusaders come into Sunday's game on a four-game win streak.
 
Quick Info

• Date/Time: Sunday, January 5; 2 pm
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
• Series History: AU leads, 28-24
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Dan Laing, Gordon Austin

Faculty/Staff Appreciation

• Sunday's game is serving as a chance for AU Athletics to recognize all the hard work and support from faculty and staff at American University.
• The day will start with a pre-game reception at noon with food, drinks, and prizes (registration is closed).
• All faculty and staff at AU are eligible to receive up to four complimentary tickets for the game.
• There will be faculty/staff spotlights during timeouts and halftime, recognizing the amazing accomplishments and talents of our community members.

Inside the Series

• This is the 53rd meeting between American and Holy Cross, with American leading the series, 28-24.
• The Eagles have a 17-10 lead in home games against the Crusaders, and won last season at home 84-65 before narrowly falling 58-56 on the road a few weeks later.
• American has won three of the last five contests, with two of those wins coming in Worcester, Mass.

What to Know About American

• American looks to end a four-game skid in its Patriot League home opener on Sunday as the Eagles face Holy Cross. AU went scoreless for long stretches in its PL-opening loss at Navy, and struggled to rebound and get inside shots.
• Grad student Matt Rogers, the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year, dropped a career-high 33 points in a loss to UMBC, hitting 15-of-20 from the field including 2-of-3 from long range. It was also his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Rogers' efforts moved him into 10th place all-time at AU in career scoring, now with 1,488 points. 
• Since a five-game win streak, AU has lost four straight and exactly matched its 6-7 non-conference record from 2023-24. While the SJU game got away early, the Eagles were in it the entire way at UVA and lost in a double-overtime thriller to UMBC. At Virginia, American made 11 three-pointers, and turned the ball over a season-low seven times.
• Rogers currently ranks in the top 10 in the Patriot League in scoring (5th, 15.6 ppg), rebounding (7th, 5.9 rpg), and field-goal percentage (7th, 52.1). Sophomore Greg Jones ranks second in the PL in free-throw shooting at 87.5 percent, and recently made 24 straight shots at the charity stripe. Senior Elijah Stephens is fourth in the league in FT percentage at 86.1, and grad student Colin Smalls is 10th at 77.1.
• The Eagles won five straight games between Nov. 22 and Dec. 4, going 3-0 at the Puerto Rico Clasico before returning home for wins over Notre Dame of Maryland (DIII) and George Washington. Grad student Colin Smalls hit 5-of-9 from long range in the 81-71 OT win over GW on his way to a career-high 26 points, including a tying triple in the final seconds of regulation. The Eagles were 3-0 at home before a 2OT loss to UMBC on Dec. 29.

What to Know About Holy Cross

• Holy Cross enters Sunday's game with a record of 9-5 and a four-game win streak including an 74-72 victory at Loyola Maryland in its PL opener. 
• Freshman Max Green, already a four-time PL Rookie of the Week, leads the Crusaders with 14.1 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Joe Nugent is close behind with 11.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest, and is fourth in the PL with 2.6 three-pointers made per game.
• Green hit a jumper with 28 seconds left to give the Crusaders the lead for good in their PL opener at Loyola. Holy Cross had trailed by three with two minutes remaining. The Crusaders made 50 percent of their field goal attempts and 47.8 percent of their three-pointers on the night, while committing just nine turnovers.
• Senior Caleb Kenney is the reigning PL Defensive Player of the Year, and has 15 blocks to lead the team and rank third in the PL with 1.2 blocks per game. Kenney also ranks sixth in the PL with a 5.26 field-goal percentage.
• Holy Cross tops the league with a field-goal percentage of .454 and with a free-throw percentage of .757.
• Dave Paulsen is in his second season as head coach of Holy Cross after two years as an assistant at Fordham, six years as head coach at George Mason, and seven years as head coach at Bucknell.

Keep Up With Us

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (/AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).