Julen Iturbe playing in a men's basketball game at VCU
Keith Lucas/Sideline Media
83
American Americ 7-5,0-0 Patriot
105
Winner VCU VCU 8-4,0-0 Atlantic 10
American Americ
7-5,0-0 Patriot
83
Final
105
VCU VCU
8-4,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
American Americ 35 48 83
VCU VCU 48 57 105

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Falls at VCU in High-Scoring Contest

RICHMOND, Va. - Despite five players reaching double digits in scoring for American University men's basketball, the Eagles were out-played on the glass and came away with a 105-83 loss at VCU on Thursday night. Junior Wyatt Nausadis led AU with 17 points, senior Geoff Sprouse scored a season-high 16, and sophomore Julen Iturbe finished with 15.

Notable Numbers
  • VCU pulled down 43 rebounds to American's 26, and had a 23-9 advantage in second-chance points. The Rams also kept AU out of the paint, with only 11 of AU's 25 field goals being two-pointers.
  • Rounding out the Eagles' double-digit scorers were freshmen Madden Collins and Kade Sebastian with 10 points each. Sebastian pulled down five boards and Collins finished with four.
  • Iturbe came one shy of his career high with his 15 points, hitting 5-of-8 from the field including 3-of-5 from long range. He added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal before fouling out with 4:43 to play.
  • Sprouse went an impressive 5-for-9 from long range and led the Eagles with a season-high five assists.
  • Nausadis went 5-for-9 overall and 3-of-5 from three-point range, also hitting 4-of-4 free throws on one go in the second half.
First Half
  • Eight three-pointers helped the Eagles hang around in the first half, but the Rams led by as many as 14 and had a 13-point lead at the end of the first 20 minutes.
  • Sebastian hit an early three in his first career start, and it was soon followed by triples from Sprouse and junior Greg Jones. 
  • The trey for Jones tied the game at 11-11, and a Collins layup at the 15-minute mark tied the game again at 13-13.
  • From there it was tough going for the Eagles, who went nearly four minutes without a point and trailed 24-15 at 11:20.
  • Iturbe hit his first three-pointer to end the drought just past the 11-minute mark, and the second triple for Sprouse made it a six-point game, 27-21 at 10:17.
  • Neither team scored for over three minutes until VCU went up by eight at 7:08.
  • Sebastian answered with his second three-pointer at 6:40 to pull AU within five at 29-24, but the Eagles could get no closer.
  • An 8-0 VCU run put the Rams up by 13, 37-24, at 4:55.
  • The Eagles came within eight on Iturbe's second three and within seven on his third, which was a bank shot at the shot-clock buzzer at 3:11.
  • After a VCU turnover, Nausadis made it a five-point game, 39-34 on a driving layup at 2:51, but the Rams closed the half on a 9-1 run.
  • VCU took a 48-35 lead into halftime after shooting 54.5 percent from the field compared to 35.5 percent for the Eagles.
Second Half
  • Sprouse hit his third trey to pull AU within 10, 50-40 at 18:34, but it was as close as the Eagles could get.
  • They once more pulled to within 11 just past the 15-minute mark on a three-point play from Jones before an 8-0 VCU run started to put the game out of reach.
  • VCU's three-point shooting picked up as the Rams extended their lead into the 20s, and continued to win the battle of the boards.
  • AU trailed by 26 on four occasions in the half, but the Eagles narrowed the margin to 16 late in the game after Nausadis hit 4-of-4 at the line following a technical foul assessed to VCU's coach.
  • Despite the gap in score, it was a chippy game on both sides. AU went 14-of-16 at the line in the second half, while VCU went 10-for-11.


Next Up
  • The Eagles have one non-conference game remaining and will head to #23/22 Virginia for a 6 p.m. contest on Monday, Dec. 22.
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