The American University men’s basketball team (2-3) was blown out by the George Washington Revolutionaries (4-0) at the Smith Center by a score of 107-67 on Nov. 12.
The last time these two squads met, the Eagles defeated the Revolutionaries in an overtime thriller at Bender Arena on Dec. 4, 2024. This time though, GW had a newer, stronger team, featuring five transfer players, including Duquesne transfer graduate guard Tre Dinkins, who is averaging 16 points per game this season.
The Revolutionaries won the tip at the top of the game and got their offense rolling, hitting a 3-pointer and a layup to quickly put them up 5-0 with over 18 minutes left in the half.
Senior guard Geoff Sprouse hit AU’s first shot of the game with a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead 5-3. The two teams exchanged baskets for the next five minutes, with GW leading the whole time.
Freshman forward Carson McDonald showed off his footwork and post skills, faking out his defender and getting the layup to cut the GW lead 10-8. On the other side of the ball, freshman guard Kade Sebastian got a quick steal and got it out to sophomore guard Wyatt Nausadis for the transition layup to tie the game at 10 with 14 and a half minutes left in the half.
That was the only tie of the game and the Eagles never held a lead. The Revolutionaries’ mix of explosive offense and suffocating defense thrusted them to go on a 41-22 scoring run to close out the half comfortably. GW made 3-pointers 8 times in the half and shot an incredible 44.4 percent from behind the arc.
Coming out of halftime and down 19 points, the Eagles tried to mount a comeback, but the Revolutionaries continued their offensive onslaught by opening the half with a dunk that sent fans in the Smith Center crazy.
American did have some bright offensive moments in the second half, including 3-pointers from junior forward Greg Jones, Nausadis and junior forward Matt Mayock. McDonald displayed his athleticism by getting a steal and slamming down a ferocious dunk with 11 minutes left in the half.
The Eagles went on to lose 107-67, allowing GW to score on 55.9 percent of their shots, hit 26 free throws and force 16 turnovers.
Jones led the team in scoring and dropped 14 points. Nausadis scored 13 points and dished out a team-high 4 assists. McDonald had 8 points and 4 rebounds. Freshman guard Madden Collins recorded 3 steals and 1 block.
After the game, Eagles head coach Duane Simpkins shared his respect for GW and head coach Chris Caputo, who signed a contract extension with the Revolutionaries after the win.
“George Washington is a very good team. I thought just from looking at them and seeing their roster that this is coach Caputo’s best team that he’s had so far. When they’re making shots, it’s going to make them really difficult to play against,” Simpkins said.
Simpkins also admitted that his team needed to stay focused and play harder during their practices, especially after big wins where their confidence is high.
“We didn’t have a good day in practice yesterday. I think a lot of that was a byproduct of our guys are so young. Beating Penn was a good win for us, and most guys were probably feeling themselves a bit,” Simpkins said. “The biggest positive is that fact that we’re going to be able to use this game to point back to when we’re not practicing well and practicing hard.”
The Eagles, who are typically a strong rebounding team, were out-rebounded 46-21 by GW. Over the last two seasons, Simpkins said the Eagles have been top 16 in the country for defensive rebounding percentage and Simpkins trusts that his team will get back into good habits.
“Rebound harder, simple as that,” Simpkins said.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Avery Grossman, Ava Stuzin.
