Bender Arena watched the American University men’s basketball team (5-2) take on the University of Albany (3-6) in a Tuesday night matchup.
The tipoff was won by the Great Danes but resulted in a steal from freshman Geoff Sprouse and a fast-break layup from junior Matt Rogers to put the first points on the board for AU.
Albany responded with a run of their own, taking the lead from the Eagles. In the first half, the lead was exchanged between the two teams five times.
Sprouse kept American in contention with Albany, contributing four 3-pointers, 14 points and three assists in only the first half.
With the score tied at 25-25, a basket from Rogers gave the Eagles the momentum they needed to take a 12-point lead, leaving the game 43-31 at the half.
American opened the second half with an 8-point run to take a 20-point lead over Albany, with two dunks from Rogers over the Great Danes and a fast-break layup from Sprouse.
The Eagles were able to attack Albany’s zone defense efficiently, with 54 of AU’s points coming from the paint.
“We were working on that for the last three days. Coach had us well prepared,” Rogers said.
Albany retaliated with a small 5-point run of their own, but with another layup from Sprouse, the Eagles once again dominated with another 8-point run. Freshman Jermaine Ballisager Webb added to the run with a dunk and fast-break layup of his own.
The Eagles were able to hold off Albany for the rest of the night, scoring a season high of 88 points to seal off the Great Danes 88-62.
AU had a great shooting night, shooting 71.4 percent from the field. Sprouse led the team with 25 points and five 3-pointers made, while Rogers shot a perfect 8-8 from the field, adding 20 points for the Eagles. Graduate student Jaxon Knotek led AU with six rebounds and sophomore Elijah Stephens contributed six assists and three steals.
The Eagles have been without two of their top scorers, juniors Colin Smalls and Johnny O’Neil. Despite their absence, American has created a five-game win streak, the first time the team has done so since 2015.
“It’s even more confidence for us. We know what we can do without them, so what are we going to be able to do when they get back?” junior Matt Rogers said.
American will look to increase their win streak on the road against Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Knott Arena.
