WASHINGTON – Behind eight second-half three-pointers and 12 overall, the American University men's basketball team found its stride and soared past visiting Holy Cross (9-6, 1-1) for its first Patriot League victory of the season. The Eagles (7-8, 1-1) got scoring from all eight players in the game, led by 18 from Matt Rogers and 17 from Matt Mayock.
 
Notable Numbers

• Four players reached double digits in scoring for American, with a fifth just one point away.
• Rogers hit 4-of-5 three-pointers to tie his career high in a single game, hit 5-of-8 overall and 4-of-4 free throws to lead AU with 18 points.
• Mayock also drained four triples while going 6-of-9 overall and finishing with 17 points.
• Lincoln Ball was a force on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds. He added three assists, two points and a steal.
• Coming off the bench to tie his career high was freshman Julen Iturbe, who was perfect from the field at 4-of-4 on his way to 11 points. Three of his shots were long-range buckets, including two that were scored back-to-back in the second half.
• Greg Jones posted 10 points for AU, and Elijah Stephens scored nine while making all five of his free throws.
• Rogers and Stephens dished four assists each to lead the Eagles.

First Half

• Neither team ever led by more than five points in a tight first half that saw three ties and five lead changes.
• The Eagles were down 24-20 before closing out the half on a 10-2 run that included 5-of-6 free throws, a layup for Ball, and Iturbe's first trey of the contest.
• All eight players in the game scored in the first half for AU, and Ball collected seven of his rebounds in the half.
• Scoring was low overall, and the Eagles shot 37.5 percent to the Crusaders' 35.5 percent in taking a 30-26 lead into the break.

Second Half

• Iturbe's back-to-back triples put American up by seven, 42-35 at 15:11, but Holy Cross answered to cut the margin back to three.
• AU went back up by 11 on its next run, with a Mayock three-point play putting the Eagles on top 50-39 at 12:31.
• The Crusaders again stormed right back with an 11-0 run for another tie at 50-50 halfway through the second.
• Long-range shooting came through for the Eagles yet again, with Mayock hitting another triple to start a 7-0 run that put American in the lead for good.
• AU was up by only single digits until the very last bucket, but the Eagles made free throws and played solid defense to stay ahead.
• After the Crusdaers came within five at the six-minute mark, freshman Wyatt Nausadis hit a three to answer.
• Holy Cross was again within five at 2:48, but AU closed on a 6-0 run to finish the game.

Up Next

• The Eagles will travel to Boston University for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 8 before returning home next weekend to face Bucknell.

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).