WASHINGTON - For the first time since 2014, American University men's basketball is headed to the NCAA Tournament after a dominant, 74-52 win over Navy in the Patriot League Championship. American led from start to finish, securing the program's fourth league title in front of a packed house in Bender Arena. Second-year head coach
Duane Simpkins delivered a championship in just his second season, and
Matt Rogers earned Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after scoring a game-high 25 points.
Notable
- Joining Rogers on the Patriot League All-Tournament Team were Colin Smalls and Greg Jones.
- The Eagles dominated from the opening tip of the game, never trailing and leading by as many as 24 points in the second half.
- Rogers added eight rebounds to his 25 points, going 10-for-17 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Nineteen of his 25 points came in the second half.
- Geoff Sprouse and Smalls led a 44% (11-for-26) three-point shooting night for AU, both knocking down three triples apiece. Smalls finished with 11 points and Sprouse with nine.
- AU's bench outscored Navy's 23-12, led for a second straight game by sophomore Matt Mayock. He went 4-6 from the field and hit a late three in the second half that gave American a 16-point lead.
- It was a stellar defensive effort from the Eagles, who held Navy to just four three-pointers and 10 free-throws. Austin Benigni went to the line just once, after scoring 20 points from the charity stripe in the semifinal against Bucknell.
- As they did in the semifinal game against Colgate, the Eagles played their best basketball in the second half. They outscored Navy 37-24, shot 46% from the field, went 8-11 from the line, and committed only three turnovers.
- AU has reached 22 victories for the first time since 2010.
First Half
- AU got out to a commanding start, taking a 9-0 lead before two minutes ticked off the clock. Elijah Stephens drained a three on the first possession of the game, then the point guard stripped Austin Benigni and found Smalls for a layup on the fast break. Thirty seconds later, Smalls made a corner three to put the Eagles in control.
- It was an action-packed and physical opening to the game, as Navy's Jordan Pennick was issued a flagrant foul at the 18:28 mark after making hard contact with Jones away from the ball. It was upgraded to a flagrant two after an official review, subsequently ejecting Pennick from the game. The sophomore guard scored 22 points against AU in the last matchup between the two teams on March 3.
- Jinwoo Kim helped the Midshipmen weather the early storm, knocking down back-to-back threes to make the score 9-6 at the 16:50 mark.
- The Eagles had five straight stops out of the second media timeout at 11:46, and they went on a 20-11 run over the next 8:28. Rogers started the run when he brought the Bender Arena crowd to its feet, driving through the lane and punching home a right-handed slam to make the score 15-10.
- The run continued with a bucket from Lincoln Ball, three pointers from Smalls and Sprouse, and back-to-back layups from Mayock off the bench. Staying hot from three, Sprouse and freshman Wyatt Nausadis put in two more to make the score 33-21 and give AU their largest lead of the half. American shot 6-13 from beyond the arc in the first.
- Eric Michaels and Mayock had buckets before Navy's Lysander Rehnstrom hit a three at the buzzer, and AU took a 38-27 lead into the locker room.
Second Half
- In the driver's seat to a Patriot League Championship, the Eagles throttled to the finish line in the second half.
- Rogers' 19 points in the second began with two buckets in the first three minutes. He touched a left-handed hook off the glass, then worked for a layup in the post at the 17:20 mark to make the score 40-31. This nine-point deficit was the closest the Mids would come to the Eagles for the rest of the game.
- Jones put in two layups, Sprouse hit his third three of the game, and Rogers finished off a 14-6 run with another dunk in transition after a Stephens steal. With 12:45 remaining, the Eagles held a 53-36 lead.
- Navy went on a short 7-2 spurt that brought the lead down to 13 at 58-45 with just under seven minutes remaining, but Rogers shut the door with a crucial defensive play. After Navy forced a shot clock violation, Rogers stole a pass from Begnini and got fouled by Mike Woods on a layup attempt. It was called an intentional foul after a review, giving the Eagles two free-throws and the ball back with 6:11 remaining.
- The dagger from American was delivered through three straight buckets from 4:40 to 3:39, bringing the lead back up to 18 and sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Rogers finished a layup off a feed from Stephens, Mayock drilled a wide open three on the next possession, then Rogers rattled home a two-handed put back dunk after a missed layup to make the score 65-37.
- The graduate senior capped off his final game at Bender Arena with a deep three from the top of the key with 2:05 to go, giving AU its largest lead at 72-48.
- The final two minutes ran off the clock, ending with the score 72-54 to American.
Next Up
- The Eagles will find out their NCAA destination at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 during the NCAA's Selection Show on CBS. Check back for campus watch party details coming soon.
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