WEST POINT, N.Y. – An early lead slipped away from American University men's basketball as the Eagles (17-11, 11-4) had a three-game win streak snapped at Army West Point (16-11, 10-5) on Wednesday night. AU retains its lead atop the Patriot League standings, but is just one game ahead of Army and Bucknell.

Notable Numbers 

• The Eagles had an 11-point lead early in the game, and a nine-point lead after their opening possession of the second half.
• Army hit 18-of-20 free throws, including 4-of-4 in the final 35 seconds.
• For the sixth time in the last eight games, Matt Rogers scored 20 or more points in leading AU with 21.
• Lincoln Ball posted his second 10-rebound performance this season, leading all players with 10 including four on the offensive glass. He led the Eagles with five assists, and was close to his second career double-double, scoring eight points.
• Elijah Stephens hit 3-of-6 from long range on his way to 11 points, and also dished four assists.
• Colin Smalls added nine points for the Eagles along with a game-high three steals.

First Half 

• There were big swings both ways in an exciting opening half that saw the Eagles shoot 52 percent from the field despite going nearly six minutes without scoring.
• American hit six of its first seven shots on its way to a 20-9 lead at 13:39 after a steal and a dunk for Smalls.
• The scoreless drought followed as Army used a 14-0 run for a 23-20 lead at 8:22.
• Rogers broke the cold spell with a three-pointer at 7:42, and Smalls followed with a layup to put AU back in the lead.
• The Black Knights took one more lead at 26-25 at 5:50, but a Mason Whittaker bucket at 4:34 put the Eagles back up for good.
• Freshman Wyatt Nausadis hit a triple in a 6-0 run that gave AU an eight-point advantage, 36-28 at 1:28.
• Army pulled within four on a pair of free throws with five seconds left, but Rogers hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to send AU into halftime up 41-34.

Second Half 

• Rogers started off the second half with a layup for a 43-34 lead, but it was AU's largest the rest of the way.
• With a 16-6 run, Army took its first lead of the second half, 50-49 at 11:28.
• With a triple, Stephens gave AU the lead back at 10:55, and the first tie of the half followed at 10:33.
• After Army took a lead with 9:39 remaining, the Black Knights stayed ahead the rest of the way.
• The Eagles were with one at 7:40 on a Rogers jumper, and again at 6:49 on a layup from Ball, but Army pulled back ahead both times.
• Another scoreless stretch of almost three minutes kept AU chasing, and Army took its largest lead of eight points, 74-66 with 35 seconds left.
• One more three-pointer from Stephens gave the Eagles a chance, but Army was solid at the free-throw line to get the win.
• The Eagles shot just 34.4 percent from the field in the second half compared to 48 percent for Army, and took only five free throws (making three) compared to a 14-of-16 performance for the Black Knights.

Up Next

• The Eagles are back at home on Saturday, Feb. 22, hosting Boston University at 4 p.m. For tickets, click HERE.

Keep Up With Us

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