WASHINGTON - Second-half separation turned a tight game into a 92–66 rout of Longwood in the finale of the Capital Thanksgiving Classic. The American University men's basketball team shot 50 percent, made 11 threes, and finished 27-for-30 at the line.

Notable Numbers

• The Eagles' 27-for-30 performance at the line marked the first time in nearly seven years that they scored that many points from the charity stripe. In January of 2019, AU hit 32-for-45 in a win over Bucknell.
• Junior Greg Jones scored 18 points to lead four players who scored in double figures, and he added four assists to a 9-for-9 performance at the line.
• With 12 second-half points, junior Matt Mayock finished with 17 overall and hit 3-of-5 from long range.
• Senior Geoff Sprouse also hit a trio of three-pointers along with going 5-of-5 at the line to score 16 points.
• Freshman Madden Collins scored 11 points and led all players with eight rebounds.
• The Eagles got a 6-of-6 free-throw performance from freshman Kade Sebastian, who scored nine points.
• AU shot exactly 50 percent in the game, going 27-of-54 from the field.

First Half

• The Lancers led early after a slow start from long range for American, but the Eagles never trailed by more than five.
• Longwood had its last five point lead at 20-15 with 9:46 left before a 10-2 run fueled by triples from Sprouse and Sebastian put AU on top.
• The Eagles led 25-24 before a 9-2 run had them up by seven, and a Julen Iturbe layup at 2:23 made it a 10-point, 38-28 lead.
• Freshman Luke Brown matched that lead with two free throws in the final minute, but Longwood scored the final four points of the half.
• AU took a 40-34 lead into the break, led by eight points from Sprouse and seven each for Jones and Sebastian.
• The Eagles committed an uncharacteristic nine first-half turnovers while forcing just four, and Longwood earned a 10-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the period.

Second Half

• The Eagles' lead held steady over the first four minutes, but a layup by Mayock at 16:17 started a 17-3 run that put AU in control.
• Sophomore Wyatt Nausadis contributed his first five points during the run, while Collins also scored five points including a triple.
• With a three-pointer at 11:13, the Eagles' eighth of the game, Sprouse gave AU a 19-point, 61-42 lead.
• American matched that 19-point lead two more times before Jones stole the ball, put in a layup and one at 5:46 for a 21-point advantage.
• The Eagles went on to lead by 23 points on four occasions before ramping it up in the final minutes and finishing with their largest lead of the contest after closing out on a 5-0 run. 
• Well over half of AU's free throws came in the second half as they hit 18-of-20, along with going 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Next Up

• The Eagles have two games remaining in their six-game homestand, and will host Drexel on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. 

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).