WASHINGTON, D.C. – Down four after Loyola University Maryland's Isaiah Hart hit a jumper in the lane with 6:09 to go, American University went on a 10-4 run that covered just over two minutes to take a lead it would not relinquish in an 81-76 Patriot League decision at Bender Arena.
 
Yilret Yiljep's layup at 4:52 pushed the Eagles (13-11 overall, 9-4 Patriot League) in front at 4:52, and a Jamir Harris three 47 seconds later pushed the advantage to 67-63.
 
Just over a minute later, Loyola (12-14, 4-9) got to within one when Andrew Kostecka converted a 3-point play with a layup and free throw, cutting the deficit to 69-68 with 2:54 to play, but Sa'eed Nelson scored two of his team-high 22 for American at 2:28 to stretch the lead back to three.
 
Loyola came up empty on its next two offensive possessions, and Nelson and Harris scored a layup and had two free throws, respectively, for the Eagles, giving American a 75-68 advantage with 1:06 to play.
 
From there, Loyola twice got within five, but it would not draw closer in the loss.
 
Kostecka hit a personal milestone despite the team setback, scoring 28 points to lead all players. In the second half, he became the 16^th player in Patriot League history to reach the 1,700-point plateau in his career.
 
He also passed four players on Loyola's all-time scoring chart during the game. With his final points, he moved into sole possession of third in program history with 1,706 points, two more than David Gately's total from 1983-87.
 
During the game, Kostecka went 11 of 11 from the free-throw line to tie for the seventh-best performance from the charity stripe in school single-game history.
 
KaVaughn Scott added a double-double – his second this season and third of his career – with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Hart added 10 points, and Santi Aldama had nine.
 
Nelson was one of five American players with 10 or more points. Connor Nelson scored 13, while Harris added 12, and Mark Gasperini tallied 11.