BALTIMORE – American University’s perfect start to the Patriot League campaign ended in what should have been favorable circumstances Wednesday night.
Loyola compensated for the absence of the conference’s leading scorer and took charge in the late stages to stun the Eagles, 62-58, at Reitz Arena.
Sophomore guard Tyler Hubbard (Montrose Christian) made six of seven three-pointers and the Greyhounds converted 8 of 10 free throws in the final minute to end AU’s 11-game winning streak.
“These guys have played at a high rate up to this point,” Eagles Coach Mike Brennan said. “They are not going to play really well every single game. It’s a letdown and hopefully this will give us a sense of what it’s going to be like here on out.”
The Eagles (14-8, 10-1) made 11 of 19 three-pointers but committed 19 turnovers and were outscored 10-3 during a critical stretch. Junior guard Darius Gardner was 5 of 5 from long distance and finished with 19 points, but Hubbard posted a career-high 20 — 14 more than his season average.
The Greyhounds (10-12, 5-6) were without senior guard Dylon Cormier (21.2 ppg), sidelined indefinitely after fracturing his left hand Saturday against Army. He also is sixth in the conference in rebounds (5.8) and second in steals (2.2).
AU’s lead atop the league standings shrunk to one game over Boston University.
“We just didn’t have that spark at the end like we usually do,” said Gardner, who added four rebounds, four steals and three assists but committed five turnovers, including a key giveaway with about a minute and a half left.
The Eagles began the week second in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.7 percent, a whisker behind North Dakota State, and made 51.2 against Loyola. But they committed 10 turnovers in trailing almost the entire first half.
AU began the second half with a 10-0 spurt, eight by Jesse Reed (16 points). But a flurry of turnovers and Hubbard’s long-range shooting restored Loyola’s lead midway through the period.
Tied at 49 with less than four minutes left, the Greyhounds went ahead for good with five straight points while forcing two turnovers. With Loyola making free throws, the Eagles were never in a position to tie.
Loyola’s conversions included a pair by Franz Rassman, a Gonzaga graduate chosen by AU to shoot after R.J. Williams was injured on the foul sequence with 40 seconds left. Rassman was 8 of 15 entering the evening but made all seven.
“We knew they were a good team, with or without him,” Reed said of Cormier’s absence. “We didn’t make the plays and they just outplayed us.”
●DAYTON 84, GEORGE MASON 67: Ohio State transfer Jordan Sibert scored 19 points and Vee Sanford came off the bench to add 16 points as the Flyers dominated the Patriots in Fairfax.
Sibert hit 8 of 11 from the floor to lead Dayton (15-8, 3-5 Atlantic 10), which made 55 percent (28 of 51) of its field goal tries and held George Mason to 40-percent shooting.
It was the ninth straight loss for the Patriots (7-15, 0-8).
The score was tied at 19 with 10:10 left in the first half.
But over the next 14 minutes 16 seconds — which bridged the halves — Dayton held George Mason to one field goal and outscored the Patriots 30-6.
Before Bryon Allen hit a three-pointer three minutes after the break, the Patriots trailed 49-25. Dayton’s lead swelled to 27 points later in the second half.
Allen finished with 16 points for the Patriots while backcourt mate Sherrod Wright scored a team-high 18.
Matt Kavanaugh made 4-of-5 shots from the floor and finished with 14 points for Dayton, which improved to 10-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points.
●BOSTON UNIVERSITY 61, NAVY 48: Maurice Watson Jr. scored nine points and dished out eight assists for the Terriers (16-8, 9-2 Patriot League) in Annapolis.
The Terriers hit just 20 of 54 from the field but held a 50-33 rebounding advantage.
The Midshipmen (7-15, 2-9) twice closed to within five in the second half but were held to a single field goal over the final 31/ 2 minutes.
Zach Fong led the Midshipmen with 15 points and Tim Abruzzo had 12.
RICHMOND 64, ST. BONAVENTURE 62: Kendall Anthony’s jumper with five seconds left lifted the Spiders at home.
Anthony finished with 28 points to lead the Spiders (15-8, 5-3 Atlantic 10). Matthew Wright scored 17 points and Youssou Ndoye added 15 points and seven rebounds for St. Bonaventure (13-9, 3-5).
●LINDSAY OUT FOR SEASON: Richmond scoring leader Cedrick Lindsay will miss the rest of the season because of knee injuries. Coach Chris Mooney said the senior guard, who played at Gonzaga High in the District, tore the meniscus in both knees. Lindsay averaged 18.3 points for the Spiders. He finished his career 22nd on the school’s career scoring list with 1,276 points
GW women upend Dukes
George Washington defeated Duquesne, 80-68, in Pittsburgh to end Duquesne’s seven-game winning streak.
Caira Washington scored a game-high 22, making 10-of-11 shot from the floor, for the Colonials (16-8, 7-3 Atlantic 10). She added a game-best 14 rebounds.
Raegan Moore scored a team-high 21 points and dished out a career-high six assists for the Dukes (16-7, 8-2 Atlantic 10).
●AMERICAN 63, LOYOLA 38: Every player scored for the Eagles at Bender Arena, with Jen Dumiak reaching double-figures for the fifth straight game. She finished with 18 points for the Eagles (15-7, 8-3) against the Greyhounds (5-17, 2-9).
●LA SALLE 66, GEORGE MASON 60: Janaa Pickard put up her best numbers in conference play with 15 points and eight rebounds, but it was not enough for the Patriots in Philadelphia.
The Patriots (6-17, 0-10 Atlantic 10) led by 12 points in the first half against the Explorers (11-11, 6-4).
●NAVY 68, BOSTON UNIVERSITY 57: In a game of spurts, the Midshipmen put together the first and final ones to come away with a win in Boston.
After the Terriers (8-16, 3-8 Patriot League) scored the opening four points of the game, the Mids (18-4, 10-1) scored 22 of the next 23 points to build a 22-5 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Alix Membreno and Chloe Stapleton each scored 18 points for Navy.
— News services and staff reports
