WASHINGTON - Behind a game-high 22 points from freshman
Madden Collins and four players in double figures, American University men's basketball broke its five-game skid with a 75-63 victory over Army in Bender Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles shot 53 percent from the field and led by as many as 17 in the second half, holding a double-digit advantage nearly the rest of the way.
NotableÂ
- Collins turned in an impressive performance, hitting 9-of-11 from the field on his way to his sixth 20-point effort of the season.
- Junior Matt Mayock and sophomore Julen Iturbe scored 11 points apiece, and junior Greg Jones added 10 along with a game-high five assists.
- Jones, Iturbe, and Mayock all posted five rebounds to lead the Eagles.
- AU shot 53 percent to Army's 39 percent, and finished with a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
First HalfÂ
- The game got off to a tough start for the Eagles with a 8-0 run from Army, but momentum shifted to the home team and largely stayed with AU the rest of the way.
- Sophomore Wyatt Nausadis hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 14-14 halfway through the period, during a 20-6 run that put the Eagles up by six with 8:09 remaining.
- After Army ended a scoreless drought of over three minutes and cut the Eagles' lead to four, AU fired off another 8-0 run for a 28-16 advantage on a driving, fast break layup by Jones at the six-minute mark.
- The Black Knights fared better during the final stretch and cut the 12-point deficit to as few as four points, but a late floater for Collins put the Eagles up by nine at the break, 36-27.
- American hit 13-for-24 from the field in the first half (54.2 percent) compared to Army's 9-for-28 shooting (32.1 percent). Mayock and Collins led AU with nine points at halftime, while Jones had eight.
Second HalfÂ
- Army twice came back within four in the opening four minutes of the second half, but Iturbe scored four points in a 6-0 run that widened AU's lead back to 10.
- Collins stole the ball on his way to a breakaway dunk to put the Eagles up by 11 making at 13:45, and Iturbe later hit a triple at the midway point of the half for AU's largest lead of 17 points following a 16-3 run, 56-39.
- Army's Ryan Curry fouled out on a technical foul just past the five-minute mark, leaving the game with just three points despite averaging a team-high 14.4 points per game for the Black Knights this season.
- The Eagles' lead only once got back to single digits with 2:35 remaining when Army used a 6-0 run to make it a nine-point game, but AU answered with its own 6-0 run thanks to a 6-of-6 showing at the line from freshman Kade Sebastian (4-for-4) and senior Geoff Sprouse.
- Collins hit the final bucket of the game, a step-back jump shot, with 12 seconds left to cap his 22-point effort.
Next Up
- The Eagles will play their next two games on the road, starting with a 7 p.m. contest at Bucknell on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
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