The American University men’s basketball team (9 -9) could not piece it together against the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (11-6) with a final score of 84-57 away at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Dec. 18.
The Eagles, missing two of their key rotational players, senior guard Elijah Stephens and freshman forward Eric Michaels, could not keep up with the Hawks’ offensive firepower. The Hawks’ shot lights out, shooting 60.4 percent from the field and making 8 of their 16 attempted 3-pointers.
American came into the game with the best non-conference record in the Patriot League. Working off fresh legs with 14 days of rest since their last win against the George Washington Revolutionaries, the Eagles looked to extend their win streak to six games.
Saint Joseph’s had their fair share of success thus far this season. Though the two teams had the same record heading into this matchup, the Hawks won the Toyota Big 5 Classic tournament for the second year in a row, where they blew out the LaSalle Explorers 82-68 on Dec. 7. Notably, the Eagles have already matched up against that LaSalle team this season but lost 52-65 on Nov. 4.
The Hawks won the tipoff and struck first with a quick layup, but graduate forward Matt Rogers immediately answered back. He got the ball in the paint and hit his defender with a slick pump fake that resulted in an easy layup.
The Hawks proceeded to go on a 7-0 run after Rogers’ first basket until sophomore forward Greg Jones broke that dry spell with two free throws after a shooting foul was called against Saint Joseph’s.
The Hawks were on a tear offensively. With 13:57 remaining, a Saint Joseph’s player got through the lane for a wide open scoop layup to take a 10-point lead, resulting in Eagles head coach Duane Simpkins calling a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, Saint Joseph’s ran full court press on American. They quickly got a steal and the easy layup to put them up 16-4 with 13:44 to go.
Although American’s offense was generating open looks, they couldn’t buy a bucket. The Eagles were on a four minute scoring drought until graduate student guard Colin Smalls drove through traffic and contact in the lane to get the layup and the foul call. He converted his shot at the line, cutting the lead 18-7.
Rogers and Jones, who carried most of the offensive load, began to heat up and each scored two of the next four American baskets with under 11 minutes on the clock. Rogers cashed in on two driving layups, and Jones got a driving layup of his own, along with a wide open 3-pointer. With under nine minutes to go in the half, the Hawks still led 32-16.
Despite strong first half performances from Rogers and Jones, American could not stop Saint Joseph’s hot shooting half or generate offense from other Eagles to put points on the board. The Eagles went into halftime trailing 44-26.
In the first half, the Eagles struggled with their shooting. They shot 33 percent from the field and only 10 percent from 3-point land, while the Hawks shot 63 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3.
The second half was about the same story as the first. The Rogers and Jones duo came out strong, with Rogers making two back to back 3-pointers and Jones adding a 3-pointer of his own with 16:57 remaining. But the Hawks still maintained a strong 52-35 lead.
Saint Joseph’s kept the same energy and shooting efficiency in the second half, not allowing American to get within shouting range of their lead.
With 13:37 remaining, sophomore forward Matt Mayock hit a 3-pointer for his first basket of the game. Mayock, celebrating his birthday, played in his home state of Pennsylvania while his family watched, including his mom Alix and sister Katie, who are both Saint Joseph’s basketball alumni.
After Saint Joseph’s made two free throws with 3:55 remaining, the game was all but determined and the Hawks took a 37-point lead, their largest of the game.
One bright spot, though, was freshman forward Julen Iturbe, who shined with extra playing time. He provided solid offense in the final minutes of the game, starting with a corner 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining. He followed that up with two made shots in the paint and another 3-pointer from the wing. Iturbe ended up going on a 10-0 run before the final buzzer.
Postgame, Simpkins praised Iturbe and his development so far in his freshman season.
“You can see why we really value what he does offensively. I mean, he can shoot it. He’s a pretty good passer. The game is much faster for him in college than high school, but he’s got talent,” Simpkins said. “And that’s the reason why we have non-conference games like these. He’s going to get some experience that’s going to go well for him and us once we get to Patriot League play.”
The Hawks dribbled the ball out as the game ended, and Saint Joseph’s defeated the Eagles 57-84.
Jones and Rogers both led the team in scoring. Jones put up 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals. Rogers also scored 19 points and had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Iturbe was the only other American player to put up double-digit points. He scored 11 points and got 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
Postgame, Simpkins shared that there were a few factors that did not have the team on their A game, but that they will travel back home and get back in the gym and work on their defensive fundamentals.
“I mean we look like we came off of exams. You know, I was telling myself early on, if we can just get some rhythm because it’s different when you haven’t had a game in however many days. You need some time to kind of get into it,” Simpkins said, “They didn’t allow us to do that. I thought they did a tremendous job at just jumping on us right away. And we never really could get our footing.”
This game sparked a four-game losing streak as the Eagles faced the University of Virginia Cavaliers, University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers and the Navy Midshipmen. The Eagles hold a 2-2 record in the Patriot League after a win against Holy Cross, a loss against the Boston Terriers and a comeback win against the Bucknell Bison on Jan. 11.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Olivia Citarella.
