BALTIMORE ­– American University shot 55 percent from the field in the second half and conversely held host Loyola University Maryland to 33.3 percent on Wednesday night, pulling away for a 74-68 Patriot League victory in Reitz Arena.
 
Loyola (8-14 overall, 5-5 Patriot League) used a 10-0 run over nearly five minutes to take a 19-9 lead on a Kenneth Jones jumper with 11 minutes to play in the first half, but American (11-9, 5-4) countered with a 9-0 stretch of its own to get within a point less than four minutes later.
 
From there, no team led by more than five points for the remainder of the half and the lead changed hands three times before the break. Mark Gasperini put American in front with a basket in the paint with 22 seconds left, but Chuck Champion evened it at 33-33 with a pull-up jumper in the lane just before the first-half buzzer.
 
Champion tallied the first two points of the second half 12 seconds in, but Jacob Boonyasith responded with a 3-pointer for the Eagles at 18:21, and American took a lead it would not relinquish.
 
Loyola tied the game at 42-42 on two Jones free throws with 14:09 left, but American went on to score 21 of the next 31 points for a 63-52 lead on a traditional 3-point play by Gasperini with 3:32 on the clock.
 
Andrew Kostecka hit a three for the Greyhounds on their next possession, and he converted a 3-point play on the next. KaVaughn Scott then knocked down two free throws, and after American's Stacy Beckton Jr.. hit a pair, Kostecka was fouled on a three and made a trio of foul shots to get Loyola within three, 66-63, with 1:58 left.
 
That was as close as the Greyhounds would get, however, as American made all eight of its free throws in the final 92 seconds to seal the game.
 
Kostecka led all player with 22 points, and he also had four blocked shots and four steals. Scott logged his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Champion added 12 points.
 
Gasperini had 21 points, and Boonyasith had a career-best 13 off the bench.
 
The Greyhounds head on the road for their next game, but stay in the State of Maryland when they drive to Annapolis for a Saturday, February 2 contest at the U.S. Naval Academy. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.