WASHINGTON - Fueled by a decisive 9–2 surge midway through the second half, American University men's basketball pulled away for a 70-66 home win over Colgate on Wednesday night. The victory—American's 10th at home this season—featured double-doubles from Greg Jones and Madden Collins, a team-high 13 points from Wyatt Nausadis, and a 38-27 rebounding edge that lifted the Eagles into a tie for second place in the Patriot League at 5–2.
 
Notable 

• Four Eagles reached double digits in the points column, led by Nausadis who hit a trio of triples on his way to 13 points. 
• Collins added a career-high 12 rebounds to 12 points, Geoff Sprouse hit 4-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Jones added a career-high 11 rebounds to 10 points. 
• The last time two Eagles had double-doubles prior to tonight was Feb. 13, 2010, in a 75-74 2OT loss at Colgate. Vlad Moldoveanu had 30 points and 10 rebounds while Stephen Lumpkins had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• It was a team effort, as the Eagles' bench outscored Colgate's 31-6.
• Physicality was a strong contributor the victory, with the Eagles out-rebounding the Raiders 38-27, including 27-18 defensively. 
• Three-point percentage was another difference-maker, with American converting on 38 percent of its attempts and holding Colgate to 27.8 percent.  

First Half 

• The Eagles came out strong with two threes by Sprouse to take an early 6-2 lead. 
• From there, the AU offense went scoreless for almost seven minutes, with Colgate going on a 9-0 run in the same span. Sophomore Julen Iturbe converted on a hook shot to end the drought and make the score 8-11. 
• Turnovers upended several Eagle possessions in the first half, as the team committed 11 while the Raiders had five.  
• Collins came alive late in the half with an assist and points on two straight possessions to keep the score close. After a missed shot by Colgate, Sprouse hit his third three of the night with 4:09 left in the half to give AU its first lead in over 10 minutes at 24-23. 
• The teams went back-and-forth from there, with the Raiders having the slight edge at half, 34-31. 

Second Half 

• The two teams went back and forth early in the half. Momentum shifted the Eagles' way when Collins lobbed a ball to Chris Eagan, and the freshman made a contested catch under the rim, passing it to Jones while falling out of bounds. The junior then dished it out to Nausadis, who drained a three from the corner, giving AU a 46-45 lead. 
• A similar play happened minutes later, with Jones missing a contested layup and Sprouse rebounding the ball before throwing it back out to Nausadis to save it from going out. Nausadis passed it back to Sprouse in the corner, and the senior nailed the three. 
• After a Colgate turnover, Jones nailed a three-pointer of his own on the next possession to give AU a seven-point lead at 56-49 after an 8-0 run. 
• Nausadis continued to be lethal from the corner, this time the opposite one, as he dropped in another to put AU up nine at 61-52, their largest lead of the game up to that point. 
• With 34 seconds left in the game, Mayock put the nail in the coffin, driving to the basket and converting the layup with a foul for a three-point play, giving the Eagles a five-point cushion. The junior scored five of his nine points in the final minute to help AU secure the win with a final score of 70-66. 

Next Up 

• The Eagles are back on the road for their next contest, a 2 p.m. rematch against Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., on Saturday, Jan. 24. 

Keep Up With Us 

• For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Instagram (@au_mbasketball), X (@AU_MBasketball), and Facebook (/AU.MBasketball).