WASHINGTON - In a game dominated by fouls and turnovers on both sides, the American University men's basketball team edged in front late before falling 59–55 to Siena on Saturday in the Capital Thanksgiving Classic. AU fell at home for the first time this season, making just three three-pointers and struggling to finish down the stretch after grabbing a slim lead in the final minutes.

Notable Numbers

• Freshman Madden Collins led AU with 13 points, shooting 5-for-11 from the field and adding five assists.
• Also finishing in double digits was junior Matt Mayock with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
• Freshman Kade Sebastian provided efficient scoring with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three, and added three steals.
• Junior Greg Jones matched Collins with a team-high five assists.
• Both teams struggled from long range, with AU going 3-for-16 and Siena 2-for-11 (each 18 percent).
• Turnovers and fouls defined the game: AU committed 19 turnovers and 26 fouls, while Siena finished with 20 turnovers and 21 fouls.
• AU's first home loss of the season moves the Eagles to 4–1 in Bender Arena.

First Half

• The opening half featured a lot of turnovers for both teams, but not a lot of scoring for either one.
• Down 6-2, the Eagles used a 9-0 run that included a Julen Iturbe triple and a Collins dunk to take an 11-6 lead at 12:46.
• Sebastian hit AU's second three-pointer for a 16-11 lead at 8:22, but the Eagles went six and a half minutes before scoring again.
• During that stretch Siena answered with a 9-0 run but then went cold from the field as well, only building a four-point lead at 20-16.
• Freshman Chris Eagan broke the scoreless drought with a layup a 1:54, and Jones hit a pair of free throws to tie it up at 20-20 with 36 seconds left.
• The final point of the half was a Siena free throw, and the Saints took a 21-20 lead into the break.
• Siena turned the ball over 12 times in the first half while AU committed 11 turnovers, and the Eagles had the slight edge in taking advantage of those miscues with an 11-7 lead in points off turnovers.
• Seven different players scored for AU in the half, led by Mayock and Eagan with four each.

Second Half

• The Eagles trailed for 18 minutes of the second half, but had their chances in the final minutes and twice earned a one-point lead.
• AU stayed within six or fewer points the entire way, shooting 444 percent from the field in the second half after hitting just 28 percent in the first.
• Nausadis hit a jumper at 7:31 for the Eagles' first lead of the half, and the game saw it's only tie of the second half after a Siena free throw 20 seconds later.
• Aggressive play led to major fouls on both sides over the next stretch, with a lot of the half playing out at the free-throw line.
• The Saints went just 16-for-27 at the line in the second half (21-of-35 overall), leaving the door open for AU.
• After a timeout on a would-be jump ball with Collins in possession, Collins got the ball to Sebastian who drilled a triple with 1:50 remaining for a 51-50 lead.
• Siena went up 52-51 before Collins gave AU the lead back at 1:19, 53-52, but the Eagles missed their next three shots from the field.
• The Saints' Gavin Doty gave them the lead back with a driving layup, and Doty, who was a perfect 8-of-8 at the line in the contest, hit four of those in the final 30 seconds to give his team a 59-53 lead.
• Sebastian finally got a bucket to go for AU as time ran out, scoring the Eagles' only points of the final minute.

Next Up

• The Eagles continue their Capital Thanksgiving Classic schedule with one final game, a 4 p.m. matchup with Longwood on Sunday.

Keep Up With Us

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