American University men’s basketball (14-9) beat the Army Black Knights (12-10) by a score of 71-68 in their first season meeting on Feb. 1 at Bender Arena.
The Eagles’ victory continued the team’s seven-game win streak and secured their spot at the top of the Patriot League standings.
Army’s offense, ranked first in the division, owns two of the division’s top scorers: senior guard Jalen Rucker and sophomore forward Josh Scovens. Though American’s offense is ranked fifth, graduate student forward Matt Rogers holds the third-highest scoring average in the league. The Eagles’ defense is also ranked second.
The ultra-competitive match-up between the Patriot League’s first and second overall ranked teams began with Rogers at the half for the Eagles, yet Army’s senior forward AJ Allenbach snagged the ball.
Scovens put the first point on the board after making one of two free throws. The Eagles were quick to retaliate, with senior guard Elijah Stephens effortlessly sinking a shot beyond the arc. Graduate student guard Colin Smalls floated two additional layups into the net, setting the scoreboard to 7-3.
With 12:43 left on the clock, the Black Knights caught the Eagles and tied the game 7-7. Stephens responded with another shot from beyond the paint, and sophomore forward Greg Jones sank a layup and a free throw. As Army attempted to move downcourt, Jones stole the ball from the Black Knights and slam dunked.
Both teams passed the ball through a sea of defenders as the Eagles tried to force the Black Knights’ shooters to remain beyond the arc. Stephens, Rogers and freshman guard Wyatt Nausadis cut through defenders and floated layups over the Black Knights to boost the Eagles to a nine-point lead.
Army’s sophomore guard Ryan Curry proved to be a problem for American; with under three minutes remaining, the sharpshooter sunk a shot from outside the paint and a jumper to close the half, bringing the score to 31-27 with the Eagles still in the lead.
Smalls began the second half with a momentous 3-pointer, a change of pace from American’s two scoreless minutes at the beginning of the first half. Rogers snuck through a crowded court to sink a layup, beginning a period of scoring for the Eagles.
Sophomore forward Matt Mayock contributed with a long-range missile, putting up 3 points for American. Jones and Nausadis both landed layups while Rogers drained another triple, ultimately giving the Eagles a 17-point lead.
With under 10 minutes on the clock, the Black Knights got to work. Curry landed another shot from downtown while the Eagles suffered a shot clock violation, decreasing their lead to just 10 points.
As Army continued to chip away at the gap, Stephens weaved through defenders to land a layup for American. Two more layups for the Black Knights brought the game even closer, but an air-balled free throw from Scovens kept the Eagles in the lead by six points.
With less than 45 seconds of play remaining, Curry took the ball to the hoop and landed a free throw, leaving only three points between the Eagles and Black Knights.
A foul from graduate student guard Lincoln Ball granted the Black Knights two free throws, bringing the score to 69-68. Mayock brought the ball into play and lobbed it down the court to Rogers on the baseline, but was fouled in the process.
Two free throws from Mayock and a final missed long-range shot from Curry concluded the game with a score of 71-68, the Eagles victorious.
Rogers led American’s scoring with 20 points, and tied for the team lead in rebounds with Ball, each notching 8. Stephens recorded 4 assists to lead the team in that statistic.
American’s win gave them a two-game advantage on top of the Patriot League table and clearly established the team’s capabilities. Head coach Duane Simpkins mentioned the team’s baseline out of bounds, as the Eagles garnered “nine or 11 points off our baseline out of bounds.”
“We talk about winning in the margins; turnovers, special team stuff, the baseline, sideline, out of bounds,” Simpkins said. “I felt we did a really good job of that.”
American next travels to face the Bucknell Bison on Feb. 5 and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Feb. 8 before returning home to play the Lafayette Leopards on Feb. 10.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella and Nicole Kariuki.
