WASHINGTON – For the first time in 10 years, American University men's basketball is headed to the Patriot League Championship, and for the first time in 16 years, the title game will be played in Bender Arena. The Eagles took down four-time defending champion Colgate, 72-62, in Sunday's semifinal, using a dominant second half to secure the win.
Five players scored in double figures, led by
Elijah Stephens with 16 points and
Matt Rogers with 15. With the victory, No. 2 seed AU improved to 21-12, its highest win total since 2010-11, and will now host No. 5 seed Navy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a championship and NCAA Tournament berth on the line. For tickets, click
HERE.
Notable Numbers
- Stephens paced American with 16 points and four assists, going 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-6 from three, and a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. He drained two triples to give American the lead early in the second half.
- Rogers followed with 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He added five rebounds and two assists.
- Colin Smalls had 12 points, including AU's final two three-pointers that gave the Eagles a 14-point lead in the final minutes of the second half.
- Sophomore Greg Jones had an efficient day, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range for 11 points.
- For a second game in a row, Lincoln Ball had another big performance, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
- Matt Mayock came off the bench for seven points, including a three in the second half that gave AU its first double-digit lead.
- The Eagles played a nearly flawless second half, shooting 16-29 from the field (55%), 5-of-8 from three-point range (62.5%), and going 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
First Half
- AU fell behind in the opening minutes of the game, suffering a 7-0 Colgate run over the first 1:33. The Raiders scored on their first three possessions with a Jeff Woodward layup, a three from Chandler Baker, then a jumper Woodward.
- The Eagles responded with buckets from Rogers, Stephens, and Ball to make the score 12-6 at the first media timeout at 14:58.
- American tightened up defensively out of the break, making eight straight stops to cause a scoring drought that lasted 5:37 for the Raiders.
- After Eric Michaels battled for an offensive rebound, Ball put in a layup off a feed from Stephens. Just over a minute later, Rogers hit a lefty hook shot to give the Eagles their first lead at 13-12.
- Colgate punched back out of the media timeout at 7:24 by scoring on three straight possessions, an 8-0 run with a three from Carlesimo, a jumper from Jalen Cox, and a three from Nicolas Louis-Jacques after an offensive rebound.
- Ball sparked a run for AU at the 5:00 minute mark that erased Colgate's eight-point lead in just three possessions. He hustled to a loose ball and put in a layup, then Jones put in back-to-back three pointers to make it a two-point game at 24-22. AU was 0-5 from three-point range before that mark.
- It became a 10-4 run for the Eagles when Smalls drained a fade away at the 1:30 mark, then Stephens scored a layup to tie the score 26-26 with 40 seconds left.
- The final possession of the half was chaotic for AU, as Rogers grabbed a defensive rebound and misfired his outlet pass that was stolen by Parker Jones on the wing. The Colgate guard fired a three that fell with 0.1 seconds remaining, and he was fouled by Rogers. Jones missed the free throw, making the score 29-26 at the break.
Second Half
- AU's two guards set the tone at the start of the second half. Smalls turned a steal into a wide open layup on Colgate's first possession, then Stephens hit back-to-back threes at 18:12 and 17:13 to give the Eagles a 34-31 lead.
- After two Mayock free throws made the score 38-36 at the 14:43 mark, the Eagles never gave up the lead. They went on 12-2 spurt, getting buckets from Ball and Rogers, a three-point play from Jones, and a transition three from Mayock off a feed from Stephens to grab the first double-digit lead of the game at 48-38.
- Rogers went to work in the post, putting in three shots from 8:38 to 6:17. A beautiful right-handed hook shot from him gave American a 14-point lead.
- Colgate got the lead back down to 10 with just under five minutes left, but couldn't get any closer until the game was out of reach. Smalls hit a three with 4:24 remaining, then provided the dagger with another triple at 2:32 to make the score 66-52.
- The Eagles hit all six of their free throws in the final 1:25 to close the door, two from Rogers and four from Stephens.
Up Next
- The Eagles will host the title game of the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Championship on Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. against Navy. For tickets, click HERE.
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