The AU men’s basketball team shattered their 11-game winning streak with a 62-58 loss to Loyola on Feb. 5 in Baltimore, Md.
The Eagles arrived in Baltimore undefeated in the Patriot League with a perfect 10-0 conference record.
Turnovers and fouls were major pitfalls for AU as the Eagles gave up the ball 19 times to Loyola and committed 16 personal fouls.
The Eagles’ defense lacked its usually solid coverage, allowing three Greyhounds to score 10-plus points and Loyola guard Tyler Hubbard to total 20 points on the night.
Hubbard was force from the perimeter, dropping six-out-of-seven of his three-point shots while adding two free throws and two rebounds.
Both AU and Loyola average around 50 percent for field goals, totaling 51.2 percent and 48.7 percent respectively.
Redshirt junior guard Darius Gardner and sophomore guard Jesse Reed led the Eagles offensively, both playing all 40 minutes of the game. Gardner picked up 19 points, along with four rebounds, four steals and three assists. While Reed totaled 16 points and three rebounds.
Sophomore forward Marko Vasic moved into the starting lineup ahead of junior forward Kyle Kager who started last week. Vasic tallied five points, two rebounds and two assists.
Another Eagles standout was senior center Tony Wroblicky, who totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
The Eagles sustained a rocky start to the game from an unexpectedly aggressive Loyola team with AU down 5-0 to start, while also having the lead just once in the first half.
AU bounced back to start the second half, going on a 10-0 run, forcing the Greyhounds to take a timeout to regain their composure.
Loyola clawed back by the 11:21 mark in the second half, tying the score at 39-39 with two free throws by Jordan Latham, who contributed to Loyola’s 17 completed free throws on the night.
Later in the game Loyola’s RJ Williams increased the Greyhounds lead to 54-49 with 1:24 left in the game.
Despite the Eagles’ nine points in the last 1:24 of the game, Loyola was able to keep pace in the final minute, hitting multiple free-throws, ending the game with a score of 62-58.
The Eagles will return to Bender Arena for their next matchup Feb. 8 against Colgate University.
