The American University men’s basketball team (21-12) defeated the Colgate Raiders (14-19) 72-62 on March 9 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinal in Bender Arena.
This was an all-around strong team performance for the Eagles. Five different players scored in double-digits to lift American over the top.
After the Navy Midshipmen defeated No. 1 Bucknell 83-77, the No. 2 Eagles earned the right to host the championship game on March 12 at 7 p.m. Navy was the only team in the Patriot League to defeat the Eagles twice during the regular season.
The Eagles defeated Colgate, which has dominated the Patriot League for the last four years, for the third time this season. No team since the 2017-18 Bucknell Bison has beat Colgate three times in a season.
The Eagles got off to a slow start, going down 7-0 in the first two minutes. Graduate student forward Matt Rogers got the Eagles back on track with a quick layup to tighten the score down 7-2 with 18:03 remaining.
Senior guard Elijah Stephens followed that up by losing his defender for a nice open scoop layup to bring the score to 7-4 with 17:07 left to go in the half.
As the Eagles tried to cut into the Colgate lead, they displayed more intensity on defense. The Eagles forced a shot clock violation and two Colgate air balls in a row.
Rogers then scored a mid-range pull up to take the Eagles’ first lead of the game, 13-12, with 8:58 remaining.
But the Eagles couldn’t create much separation on the scoreboard just yet and found themselves down 22-14 off an 8-0 Colgate scoring run with just under six minutes left.
Graduate student guard Lincoln Ball sparked the rally by getting a tip-in bucket. On the other side, sophomore forward Greg Jones got the steal and scored a 3-pointer. On the next possession, Jones hit another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 24-22 with 3:39 remaining.
With 43 seconds left in the half, Stephens scored a layup to tie the game up at 26-26, forcing Colgate to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Colgate hit a 3-pointer to end the half leading 29-26.
Entering the second half, American took over and never looked back. Graduate student guard Colin Smalls kicked off the scoring by getting a steal and taking it downhill for a quick bucket.
Stephens retook the lead for the Eagles, hitting back-to-back wide open 3-pointers. The score was 34-31 with 17:13 left to go.
With 13 minutes remaining, Jones drove through the lane and pushed through traffic for the bucket and the foul call to take 43-36 while the Eagles had all the momentum.
Sophomore forward Matt Mayock cashed in a transition shot from behind the arc to extend the lead to 10, forcing Colgate to call a timeout. The Eagles led 48-38 with 11:58 to go.
With two minutes left, Smalls iced the game, hitting two huge 3-pointers down the stretch that sealed Colgate’s fate. His second 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 66-52 lead, their largest of the game.
The Eagles went on to win 72-62. Stephens led the team in scoring and assists, dropping 16 points and 4 assists. Rogers followed in scoring with 15 points, as well as 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
Though American’s students were on spring break, Bender was still rocking with a strong turnout of 1,908 people — the fourth largest crowd in Bender this season.
Eagles head coach Duane Simpkins appreciated the crowd and the community’s support.
“They want to see winners,” Simpkins said. “It’s cool to see that we’re getting people excited about coming out because we’re winning basketball games.”
Simpkins was also extremely proud of his team for beating such a successful program in the tournament.
“To be able to beat Colgate, a program that has been dominant for the past five or six years in route to our first championship in some time, is big time,” Simpkins said.
Rogers has matched up against Colgate All-Patriot League Second Team graduate center, Jeff Woodward, many times in his career, and shared his praise for one of his rivals after his final collegiate game.
“He’s a great player. He’s made me better. I’ve hopefully made him better,” Rogers said. “I respect him and I wish him the best going forward.”
Rogers, who had a bounce back game after only scoring 5 points against Lafayette on March 9, talked about the importance of creating smart shots in the offense.
“Just letting the game come to me, not forcing anything, not changing anything that I do and creating other shots for open guys. I’m not trying to be the guy that shoots 30 times in a game. I’m trying to get smart shots, get shots for everybody, even myself,” Rogers said.
Smalls is excited about the opportunity to play in a Patriot League Championship game against Navy on his home court.
“Me and Matt, our first college game was actually against Navy at Navy. So for our last college game at Bender to be against Navy, and to be able to get a win for a Patriot League Championship, it feels amazing. It’s a super amazing opportunity,” Smalls said.
The Patriot League champion will be crowned following Wednesday’s game. The winner of the final will automatically advance to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles have a chance to be in the tournament for the first time since 2014.
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