WASHINGTON - With the Patriot League regular-season title race tightening, American University men's basketball (18-11, 12-4) returns to Bender Arena for its final home game on Wednesday night, Feb. 26, hosting Navy (11-18, 8-8) in a crucial matchup. The Eagles, undefeated at home in conference play, look to avenge a January loss to the Midshipmen while maintaining their one-game lead over Bucknell atop the PL standings.
The Market Food Pantry February Food Drive Presented by Wegmans
- 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: Wednesday February 26; 7 pm
- Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
- Series History: Navy leads, 54-52
- 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 will be the 107th meeting between American and Navy. The series was tied 52-52 in the middle of last season, but the Midshipmen have since won twice.
- Navy won 71-65 in Bender on March 2, 2024, and then again in this season's first meeting in Annapolis on Jan. 2, 81-58.
- Navy leads 3-2 in the last five games. The Eagles' last win was a 59-42 road victory in Annapolis on Feb. 14 of last season.
- AU is 24-18 in home games against Navy, but has dropped five straight to the Mids in Bender. The Eagles' last home win was just prior to the pandemic, on Feb. 19, 2020.
What to Know About American
- With two wins to close out the regular season, American would earn its first Patriot League regular season championship since 2009. The Eagles have already achieved the highest win total since 2013-14 with 18 victories, and their 12 PL wins match the 2019-20 team for the most since the 2013-14 squad tied the program record at 13-5.
- The Eagles have won 11 of their last 13 games, and have a one-game lead over Bucknell in the PL standings.
- Defense was on display in AU's most recent win, a 48-44 defeat of Boston University that saw the Eagles win despite shooting under 10 percent from long range (2-for-21). They hit 10-of-12 free throws, forced 19 turnovers on BU, got five steals from Elijah Stephens, and were able to hold off the Terriers in the final minutes with a three-pointer and solid foul shooting. It was the first time AU had scored fewer than 50 points in a win since December, 2014 against Mount St. Mary's (46-45).
- Ten of AU's games this season have been decided by five or fewer points, and the Eagles have won eight of those, including a Lincoln Ball buzzer-beater over Lehigh on Jan. 22, an OT win at Lehigh on Feb. 8, and a win on a Matt Rogers jumper with 3.2 seconds left against Lafayette on Feb. 10.
- All three graduate students (Ball, Rogers, and Colin Smalls) have now hit a crucial late shot to help win a game.
- Rogers, who ranks sixth all-time at AU with 1,767 points, averages 17.1 points per game to rank fourth in the PL, while his 5.7 rebounds per game rank eighth. Rogers is hitting shots at a 55.2 percent clip, good enough for fourth in the PL and 49th in NCAA DI. His three-point field-goal percentage of .402 ranks ninth in the PL, while his 1.8 3-pointers per game ranks 11th.
- Senior guard Elijah Stephens is just the fourth player in program history to eclipse both 1,000 points (now with 1,139) and 400 assists (now with 445). He's also cracked the career list in steals with 175 to rank in a tie for ninth all-time at AU. Stephens has reached double digits in scoring in five of the last six games, including a career-high 23-point effort in an overtime win at Lehigh on Feb. 8.
- AU leads the Patriot League and ranks 40th in NCAA DI in free-throw percentage at .764, a number that would break a 60-year-old program record, with the 1964-65 team currently holding that mark at .750. Greg Jones ranks second in the PL in free-throw percentage at .867, Elijah Stephens is third at .863, and Smalls is fifth at .812.
What to Know About Navy
- It has been a tough year for Navy away from Annapolis, with the Midshipmen currently at 3-11 in road games as they head into their final road contest of the regular season.
- Navy is playing well as of late, having won three of its last four games – all at home against Patriot League foes Lehigh, Army West Point, and Holy Cross.
- Three players have been mainstays in the Mids' starting lineup through each of their 29 games this season. Not surprisingly, those three top the team in scoring, with junior guard Austin Benigni leading the way at 18.3 points per game, which is also the best mark in the Patriot League.
- Benigni is joined by sophomore guard Jordan Pennick (10.3 ppg) and junior center Aiden Kehoe (9.1 ppg) in having made every start this year. Kehoe's 9.5 rebounds a game also pace not only the Midshipmen but the Patriot League as well.
- Ed DeChellis is in his 14th season at the helm in Annapolis. He has won 411 games in his 29 total seasons as a head coach.
Tied for the Most Patriot League Wins in 11 Years
- With 12 Patriot League victories, the Eagles have tied the 2019-20 team for the most wins since 2013-14.
- One more PL victory will tie that PL Champion squad from 2013-14, which tied a program record with 13 league victories and won the program's third PL title.
- 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.
- AU had its longest conference win streak (seven games) since that 2013-14 season. The Eagles have now won 11 of their last 13 games, going 4-2 since the streak ended.
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