The American University men’s basketball team (9-9) defeated their Patriot League rival Bucknell Bison (6-11) 68-58 in Bender Arena on Jan 11.
Senior guard Elijah Stephens also reached a milestone as the 35th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Last season, the Bucknell Bison eliminated the Eagles in the Patriot League tournament quarterfinals 80-57, ending their chances for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. That gave American all the extra motivation for revenge, and the team played with a chip on their shoulder, according to Eagles head coach Duane Simpkins.
“To lose by 25 last year to wrap up our season, that’s personally, that stuck with me over the summer. I did mention that to our guys at shoot around and practice yesterday. Anytime you can find something to put a chip on your shoulder with–losing by 25 in a playoff game a year ago definitely could do that,” Simpkins said post game.
The Eagles also got key reinforcements back. Freshman forward Eric Michaels, who had been out since their matchup against Saint Joseph’s on Dec. 18, came back from an injury to aid the Eagles in this matchup.
At the top of the game, Bucknell won the tipoff and got things rolling with a quick bucket from the inside. Notably, the Bison ran a zone defense that threw American off their rhythm early on, but the Eagles recovered. Graduate student forward Matt Rogers started their scoring with a nice post hook shot 24 seconds into the game.
Bucknell started the game hot. They went on an 8-2 run, forcing the Eagles to call a timeout with 16:51 left in the half.
Coming out of the timeout, Rogers scored the next 4 points for the Eagles, until freshman guard Wyatt Nausadis, who’s typically a 3-point sniper, showed his post moves and got a tough bucket through traffic to cut the Bison lead 8-12.
With 4:54 remaining on the clock, Elijah Stephens scored an acrobatic scoop layup and continued to cut the lead 23-15. This layup was a huge milestone for Stephens, as he joined American’s 1,000 points club. After his milestone was announced over the public address speakers, the crowd broke out into applause for Stephens.
After the game, Rogers praised Stephens for achieving this milestone in his senior season.
“I’m just glad that he finally got his, because he’s a hell of a player. I love playing with him. He creates shots for everybody, not just myself. But he’s a great dude and I love that he got it right now with a win,” Rogers said.
By halftime, the Eagles started to fall behind. They struggled to put points on the board and trailed 33-23.
The second half was an entirely different story as American started to slowly chip into that 11 point Bison lead. The half opened with another one of Rogers’ signature post hooks, and sophomore forward Greg Jones went 2-2 at the free-throw line. From there, the Eagles kept it rolling with a 3-pointer from Nausadis and a layup from graduate student guard Lincoln Ball to cut the lead to 6 with 15:58 remaining.
In the second half, Rogers picked up his fourth foul and was just one away from fouling out with most of the half remaining. Rogers walked to the bench, which gave senior forward Mason Whittaker some extra rotational minutes. Whitaker made the most of his time hustling on defense and making smart heads up plays, including a slick pass to Ball that resulted in a bucket plus the foul.
Postgame, Simpkins praised Whittaker’s hard work despite his struggle with injuries.
“I’m so proud of him. When I got the job, I was pretty much told he may not be able to play. He had numerous knee surgeries, you know, shout out to Asia McCants who’s our athletic trainer. She has worked her tail off to get him to just be able to function and practice and we had to throw him out in the game today. You know, Eric Michaels is on minutes restriction. Matt Rogers was in foul trouble, so kudos to Mason for staying with it, staying ready,” Simpkins said.
After trailing the entire game, Michaels tied the game at 42 points each with a layup with 10:43 left in the half.
Both teams exchanged points, but the Eagles started to tighten up on defense and force Bucknell turnovers off steals.
Stephens got a steal and capitalized, going coast to coast for an easy transition bucket. Rogers followed up with a 3-pointer to tie the game again at 52.
Rogers then showed off his defensive skills, getting a steal and muscling his way through the lane for a bucket and a foul. American took the lead for the first time in the game with 6:22 remaining, sending Bender Arena into a frenzy.
Freshman forward Julen Iturbe checked into the game with 4:14 remaining in the half and immediately hit a 3-pointer—that’s when the Eagles began to pull away. After a field goal from Rogers and a 3-pointer from Jones, American led 62-58 with just 1:03 remaining and sealed the game. The Bison were forced to play the foul game, but they could not secure the miracle comeback and the Eagles won 68-58.
Rogers led scoring with 20 points, shooting 80 percent from the field. He also had 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals and 1 block. Jones was right behind him with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal. And in a huge milestone game, Stephens recorded 7 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists and 1 steal.
Although the Eagles had an underwhelming first half by Simpkins’ standards, he shared pride in his team for coming back in the second half strong to secure the win.
Rogers noted that while the team had extra motivation to win this game after last year’s disappointment, their main goal was to continue to win Patriot League games.
“We just had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder for the guys that were here last year, for sure. I mean, they blew us out in the tournament at our own place, so we had a little grudge against that,” Rogers said. “But just coming out here and competing after a tough loss at BU is our main focal point. Getting wins in the Patriot League is a big thing. Having some momentum going into the tournament eventually is a big thing. So we just wanted to do one win at a time, and that’s what we came here and did today.”
After a road win against the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 73-54 on Jan. 14, the Eagles will continue their road trip on Jan. 18 at Holy Cross before returning home to play Lehigh on Jan. 22.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Olivia Citarella.
