WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Facing ACC power Wake Forest on opening night, American University men's basketball showed plenty of promise in an 88-74 road loss. Sophomore Wyatt Nausadis poured in a career-high 22 points to lead four Eagles in double figures as AU battled through a 40-point second half.

Notable Numbers 

• Nausadis, whose previous career-high was 10 points, hit 8-of-16 from the field including 4-of-8 from long range.
• Junior Greg Jones went 8-for-8 at the free throw line on his way to a 14-point effort, also leading AU with seven rebounds, a career-high six assists, and four steals.
• Senior Geoff Sprouse and freshman Carson McDonald added 10 points apiece. Sprouse made 3-of-4 from the field, while McDonald hit 4-of-5 and grabbed five boards.
• Sophomore Julen Iturbe grabbed a career-high six rebounds, also scoring six points.
• The Eagles made 16-of-18 at the line. While they struggled from beyond the arc offensively, they held Wake to just 28 percent shooting from long range (7-for-25). 

First Half 

• The Eagles hung around for the better part of the first half despite falling behind by eight near the midway point.
• Down 7-0 early, McDonald got AU on the board with a layup at 16:37.
• Jones then converted back-to-back three-point plays, completing an 8-0 run for an 8-7 lead at the 16-minute mark.
• The Demon Deacons went up by eight at 9:25 after hitting four-of-five attempts in a high-scoring stretch.
• Nausadis gave the Eagles new life, hitting triples on back-to-back possessions after a Jones steal in between, and the Eagles tied it up at 23-23 with 8:16 left in the half.
• American went cold from the field for the next five-minute stretch as Wake surged ahead.
• The Deacs, who hit 7-of-7 dunks in the half, went up 41-25 at 2:43 after a 12-0 run.
• AU hit three of five attempts in the remaining time to close the gap to 12 at the break, 46-34.

Second Half 

• Jones cut the margin to 10 with an early second-half bucket, and the third triple for Nausadis made it a 10-point game again at 49-39.
• Twice more, Nausadis got the Eagles within 10, the second time on a jumper at 12:23 to make it 60-50.
• Wake Forest had a stretch of strong shooting including a pair of triples to take a 16-point lead at 7:09, also taking advantage of a string of turnovers by American.
• Freshman Madden Collins drained a three-pointer at 6:19 to put AU within 11, but it was as close as the Eagles would get the rest of the way.
• At the five-minute mark, American successfully used a challenge under the new rules, getting an offensive foul by McDonald overturned to have his bucket count instead. That driving layup made it a 12-point game, but the Deacs later led by as many as 17 before a final three-pointer from Nausadis with under 10 seconds remaining.

Up Next

• The Eagles will host the University of Pennsylvania in their home opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. Prior to the game, the 2025 Patriot League Champions banner will be unveiled, and the first 500 fans in Bender Arena will receive mini replica championship banners.

Keep Up With Us

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