WASHINGTON - Fans are in for an exciting day of American University basketball and Black History Month celebrations on Saturday, Feb. 15 as the men's and women's teams both play host to Loyola Maryland. The men's game is set for 4 p.m. after the 12:30 p.m. women's game, and the Eagles are going for their 10th win at home as well as their 10th win in their last 11 games. AU stands atop the Patriot League standings at 10-3, and has not lost in Bender Arena during Patriot League play.
Black History Month Celebration
- The theme of Saturday's doubleheader is centered around celebrating Black History Month as AU Athletics honors Black culture with performances at both contests.
- Be sure to arrive 10 minutes early to both games for special performances of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Often referred to as "The Black National Anthem," Lift Every Voice and Sing is a poem written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900.
- Batalá Washington DC, an all-women Afro-Brazilian music band that brings Samba-Reggae rhythms and the vibrant energy of Brazil will perform, followed by a traditional stroll performed by the Divine 9 Sorority and Fraternity AU chapters. A stroll is a step routine meant to be a representation of the bond between the members of fraternities and sororities. Strolling was introduced to Greek life in the early 1900s by sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).
- At halftime of the men's game, the brothers of the Kappa Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. will be performing a stroll, followed by a special Spoken Word performance by Marla Mason. Mason is a former NCAA women's basketball player, a philanthropist, and published author.
- All fans are encouraged to bring canned or non-perishable food items to the game.
- AU Athletics & TEAM AU Corporate Partner Wegmans are sponsoring a February Food Drive in benefiting AU's 'The Market' student food pantry.
- Members of AU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be on hand at the entrance to Bender Arena, helping to collect donations to combat food insecurity on AU's campus.
Quick Info
- Date/Time: Saturday, February 15; 4 pm
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: American leads, 55-52
- TV: ESPN+
- Talent: Dan Laing, Gordon Austin
Hospitality Offerings and Enhanced Fan Experience
- American has a new hospitality area for all fans this season, as well as revamped premium courtside seating as part of an upgrade to the fan experience in Bender Arena on game days.
- The Perch is a new game day hospitality area offering beer, wine and seltzers for purchase.
- In addition to our concession menu from Gregorio's Trattoria, fans can now enjoy select beverages and snacks just steps from the baseline in Bender Arena. Fans must be 21+ years old to enter.
- Additionally, Bender Arena's courtside seats have been moved closer to the action, with additional seating now available in the end zone baseline area for fans to experience all the action - up close and personal.
Inside the Series
- This is the 108th meeting between American and Loyola Maryland, with American leading the series, 55-52.
- In this season's earlier meeting in Baltimore, the Eagles ran away with a 73-54 victory in their most lopsided PL win so far.
- Prior to that victory, American had dropped two of three contests, including a very low-scoring, 44-43 defeat at home on Feb. 7, 2024 in the second game of last year's regular-season series.
- The Eagles beat the Greyhounds in last year's meeting on the road, 66-52, led by a game-high 17 points from Elijah Stephens.
- American boasts a 29-13 record in home contests against the Greyhounds, but trails 36-26 in Baltimore.
What to Know About American
- The Eagles, winners of nine of their last 10 games, are alone in first place in the Patriot League at 10-3.
- AU is one game ahead of Army and two ahead of Bucknell and Colgate. The Eagles are 1-1 with Bucknell, and will face the other two in their last two regular-season road games.
- American's 10 league wins match last season's total with five games left to play, and 10 is the most wins since the 2019-20 team went 12-6.
- With the exception of a 19-point win at Loyola Maryland on January 13, all nine wins in AU's 9-1 streak were close (within 10 points), including five decided by four or fewer points.
- The Eagles are coming off another thriller earlier this week, as Matt Rogers hit a jumper with 3.2 seconds left for a 60-58 win over Lafayette.
- All three graduate students (Rogers, Colin Smalls, and Lincoln Ball), have now hit a crucial late shot to help win a game.
- Rogers, who ranks sixth all-time at AU with 1,711 points, has averaged 20 points per game over the last six games.
- His season average of 17 points per game is fourth in the Patriot League, while his 5.7 rebounds per game rank seventh. Rogers is hitting shots at a 55.8 percent clip, good enough for third in the PL and 24 in NCAA Division I. His three-point field-goal percentage of .411 ranks ninth, while his 1.7 3-pointers per game ranks 11th.
- AU leads the Patriot League and ranks 34th in NCAA DI in free-throw percentage at .767, a number that would break a 60-year-old program record, with the 1964-65 team currently holding that mark at .750. In PL games, AU has made 80 percent of its foul shots.
- Greg Jones ranks second in the PL in free-throw percentage at .881, Elijah Stephens is fourth at .855, Colin Smalls is fifth at .815, and Matt Rogers is 11th at .753.
- Senior guard Elijah Stephens is just the fourth player in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points (now with 1,116) and 400 assists (now with 432). Stephens also just cracked the career list in steals with 169 to rank 10th all-time at AU.
- Due to illness or injury he has missed four games at various times this season (La Salle, St. Joe's, Virginia, Bucknell), and all four were losses for the Eagles.
What to Know About Loyola Maryland
- Since falling to American on Jan. 13, the Greyhounds have gone 3-5 in Patriot League play. They dropped a pair of contests last week, losing to top-four teams Colgate and Army.
- Loyola has three players averaging 12.0 points per game or more. Senior forward Milos Ilic leads the team with 14.0 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game (second in the PL), and 2.8 assists per game.
- Sophomore guards Jacob Theodosiou (12.6) and Jordan Stiemke (12.0) are also putting up double figures thus far for the Greyhounds. Theodosiou is fourth in the PL with 1.5 steals per game, while Stiemke is fifth with 1.0 blocks per game.
- Josh Loeffler is in his first season at the helm of Loyola, but he is familiar with both the program and the recruiting area. As head coach at neighboring Johns Hopkins from 2017-23, he went 114-27 overall.
- In Loeffler's final season at Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays reached the Division III Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015 and Loeffler was named the NABC Region V Coach of the Year. He was previously an assistant coach at Loyola from 2013-17.
Fifth-Year Finishing School
- Veteran leadership shows up in many ways, and for AU's three grad students, it's been visible in the biggest moments. Thanks to the NCAA's COVID eligibility rule, Lincoln Ball, Matt Rogers, and Colin Smalls are in their fifth season—and all share a unique achievement.
- All three have delivered a clutch shot this season, the only three Eagles to do so. Colin Smalls started the trend, forcing overtime against George Washington on Dec. 4with a long three at the end of regulation in a game AU went on to win.
- Lincoln Ball followed with a true buzzer-beater, drilling a game-winning floater to lift AU over Lehigh on Jan. 22, 68-67.
- Matt Rogers was the latest to come through in the clutch, sinking a fadeaway jumper at 3.2 seconds for a 60-58 win over Lafayette.
Best Patriot League Start in 10 Years
- The Eagles' 10-3 start to Patriot League play is their best in 10 years, since the 2013-14 team won 10 straight games to open league play. That team finished 13-5 overall in the PL and went on to win the program's third Patriot League Championship.
- It has been a strong turnaround since AU started the PL season this year at 1-2, including a 23-point loss at Navy in the Eagles' conference opener on January 2.
- With its win at Lafayette on Jan. 29 and extending with its win over Army on Feb. 1, AU had its longest conference win streak (seven games) since that 2013-14 season. The Eagles have now won nine of their last 10 games.
Make Your Free Throws
- AU's team free-throw percentage of .767 leads the PL, ranks 34th in NCAA Division I, and would break the previous program record of .750 from 1964-65 if it held through to the end of the season.
- The Eagles went 9-for-9 at Virginia, 15-for-17 vs. Holy Cross, 12-for-13 at BU, 14-for-16 at Holy Cross, and 16-for-17 at Lafayette. AU's shooting at the line was crucial in its win at Lafayette, as the Eagles hit 12-for-12 in the final minutes to help erase a seven-point deficit.
- Greg Jones (2nd, .881), Elijah Stephens (4th, .855), Colin Smalls (5th, .815), and Matt Rogers (10th, .753) all rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage. Matt Mayock is shooting 80.3 percent and has made 11 free throws in a row, but does not have enough attempts to be ranked (57-for-71).
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