DAYTON, Ohio - American University's season came to an end in the NCAA First Four on Wednesday night, as the Eagles fell 83-72 to Mount St. Mary's in Dayton. Playing without All-Patriot League First Teamer and PL Tournament MVP
Matt Rogers for much of the game after he exited with a knee injury in the first half, AU battled back from a 19-point deficit to cut the margin to single digits late but couldn't complete the comeback. The Eagles close the season at 22-13, capping a memorable run that included their first Patriot League title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years.
Notable
- Behind a career-high six three-pointers made, junior Geoff Sprouse led the Eagles with 18 points.
- In his final game, senior Elijah Stephens also finished in double digits with 12 points.
- Greg Jones, Matt Mayock, and Colin Smalls all scored nine points each. Smalls came into the game with 990 career points, coming up one short in scoring 999 career points in his four-year career with the Eagles.
- Lincoln Ball added five assists and four rebounds to four points in his last contest.
- Despite playing only eight minutes, Rogers posted seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
- The Eagles hit 13 three-pointers, but needed 35 attempts in the process.
- Mount St. Mary's shot nearly 58 percent for the game, and 41 percent from long range.
First Half
- Hot shooting from both teams led to the high-scoring first half, beginning with a three from the Mount's Xavier Lipscomb just seven seconds into the game.
- AU responded with a bucket from Rogers, and Smalls nailed two straight triples to give the Eagles an 8-7 lead.
- After getting tangled up with the Mount's Dallas Hobbs at 17:09, Rogers went down holding his knee and came out of the game less than a minute later.
- Both teams had 20 points apiece before 10 minutes went by, with the score tied at the 11:51 mark. Sprouse made two three-pointers, while Mayock and Jones put in two-point buckets to get AU to 20.
- After re-entering the game, Rogers scored from the post and drilled a three from the wing to make it a one-point deficit at 29-28 with 7:18 remaining. Two minutes later, the graduate senior went down again while defending Jedy Cordilia. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a knee injury.
- The Eagles responded well after losing Rogers, with Sprouse and Stephens putting in threes just 34 seconds apart.
- With the score 36-34 to the Mount and 4:32 remaining, the Mountaineers ended the half on a 12-4 run. It was capped off by a buzzer-beating three from Hobbs, making the score 48-38 at the half.
Second Half
- AU cut into the double-digit deficit in the opening minutes of the second half, making it 56-51 after three triples from Stephens, Jones, and Mayock over a two-and-a-half-minute span.
- Five points was the lowest the Mountaineers' lead was cut to in the half, as they went on a 20-6 run from the 15:11 to 6:35 mark to make the score 76-57. Arlandus Keyes, Dola Adebayo, Malcolm Dread, Hobbs, Cordilia, and Javon Earvin all had buckets during the spurt. The 19-point lead was the largest of the game.
- The Eagles did not go quietly, clawing back into the game with a 9-2 run before the final buzzer. Sprouse made his sixth three of the night with four minutes remaining, then Ball finished off a layup in transition to make the score 80-71.
- American applied full court pressure out of a timeout, and Mayock forced a steal and got fouled. He made the two free-throws to make the score 81-72 with 3:20 left, but the Eagles could not close the gap from there.
- Keyes made two free-throws on the other end for Mount St. Mary's, and the score held at 82-73 until the final buzzer.
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