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American Can't Get Over Hump at Radford, 76-65
Doctor Scores Season-High 19 to Lead Eagles

December 4, 2001

Jason Thomas scored a career-high nine points in a 76-65 loss at Radford on Dec. 4.

Gameday Central
American	65
Radford	76
Box Score
Points: Watkins (Radford) 24 Rebounds: Savtchenko (Radford) 14 Assists: Hornbuckle (Radford) 4

RADFORD, VA -- Correy Watkins tallied a game-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds and Andrey Savtchenko had 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds as Radford outlasted American, 76-65, here in the Dedmon Center on Tuesday evening in front of 1,537. It was the third straight loss for the Eagles, after opening the season, 2-1.

Radford (4-4) jumped out to an early 12-2 lead after just five-and-a-half minutes of play, paced by five points from Watkins and four from Savtchenko. The Highlanders held a similar 10-point lead (24-14) with 8:19 left to play in the first half when American (2-4) finally woke up.

The Eagles used a small 12-5 spurt to slice the lead back to three (29-26) with 4:37 to play in the first half. Radford came back though, closing the period with a 9-2 run to take a 382-8 advantage into the lockerroom.

The Highlanders came out just as strong to start the second period, and had a 16-point lead (49-33) at the 14:27 mark. The Eagles came back strong yet again, trimming the margin to five (52-47) with a 14-5 run over the next three minutes.

American would get no closer though, as Watkins was too much inside, scoring 12 of his game-high 24 in the final 9:09.

The Eagles had their best game of the season from the field, shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64), but they went to the free-throw line a season-low six times, connecting on just two attempts.

Radford was also dominant on the boards, outrebounding American by a decisive 48-27 margin, including 17 offensive rebounds to just six for the Eagles.

Patrick Doctor scored a season-high 19 points on nine-of-16 shooting from the field to pace American. Glenn Stokes added 12 points and five rebounds for American, while freshman Jason Thomas scored a career-high nine points.

Mike Hornbuckle added 12 points and a game-high four assists for the Highlanders.

American returns to action this Friday, Dec. 7, when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., to face North Carolina A&T at 7:30 p.m. The next home game for the Eagles is Dec. 29 against Wagner.