HAMILTON, N.Y. – Winning on the road at Colgate, American University men's basketball closed the regular season with a 67-59 victory on Saturday, tying the program record with 13 Patriot League wins.
Matt Rogers led the way with 20 points, including 16 in the second half while hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range, as the Eagles became the first team to defeat Colgate at home in March in 14 tries. American finished the regular season at 19-12 overall and 13-5 in the Patriot League, earning a share of the regular season championship.
Postseason
- American and Bucknell tied at 13-5 atop the Patriot League standings. By virtue of a tiebreaker, American is the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Championship and Bucknell is the No. 1 seed.
- The Eagles will play a PL Championship quarterfinal at home on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. against the winner of a first round game between No. 7 Lafayette and No. 10 Holy Cross. For tickets, click HERE.
- If successful, AU will host at least one more round in the PL Championships, a semifinal on March 9.
- The regular season title is AU's first since the 2008-09 season. The Eagles' last PL Tournament Championship was in 2013-14.
Notable Numbers
- The Eagles led for all but nine minutes of the game, and led for the entire second half. AU stretched its advantage to as many as 14 points on three occasions.
- Rogers was 2-for-2 for four points in the first half, but exploded for 16 points in the second. He finished 8-for-10 overall and hit 4-for-5 from long range, all after the break.
- The Eagles also got double-digit scoring from Greg Jones with 12 points along with a team-high six rebounds.
- Matt Mayock and Wyatt Nausadis came off the bench for eight points each, and each hit a pair of triples.
- The Eagles went 12-for-26 from long range, bouncing back with a bang after two games where the three-pointers weren't falling.
- Elijah Stephens led AU with five assists and three steals, also scoring seven points.
First Half
- Nausadis gave the Eagles a big spark early off the bench, hitting two triples to help erase an early six-point deficit and tie the game at 14-14 with 12:20 left.
- Two more ties followed before two lead changes, and AU trailed 23-22 with 6:38 to go.
- From there, the Eagles closed on a 12-3 run, hitting 5-for-7 from the field over a five-minute stretch, and forcing three turnovers.
- Mayock also drained two three-pointers in the half, while Jones and Sprouse hit one apiece.
- AU shot 53.8 percent to the Raiders' 50 percent from the field, and held Colgate to 3-of-12 shooting from long range while hitting 6-of-14 at the other end.
- Nausadis led all players with eight points and halftime, and Jones had seven.
Second Half
- Starting with the first triple for Rogers, the Eagles quickly took a 12-point lead in the first two minutes of the second half.
- Both teams relied heavily on long-range shots in the second, with AU going 6-for-12 and Colgate hitting 5-of-14.
- The Raiders came within eight near the 13-minute mark, but Stephens and Colin Smalls were contributors in an 8-2 run capped by another Rogers triple for a 51-37 lead at 11:13.
- AU matched that 14-point advantage twice at 55-41 on a Stephens jumper and at 58-44 on a Jones triple with 7:21 to go.
- The Eagles had a 10-point, 61-51 lead with 4:21 left, and held that advantage for three minutes as both teams went cold from the floor.
- Starting at 1:06, Colgate made a pair of three-pointers on each side of a 2-for-2 outing for Jones at the foul line.
- The second triple made it a six-point game, 63-57 with 52 seconds left, but Colgate could get no closer as Stephens made a layup and Mayock hit a pair of free throws.
Up Next
- The Eagles will play a Patriot League Championship quarterfinal game at home on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. For tickets, click HERE.
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