American 64, Lehigh 44

American stopped a two-game losing streak with a 64-44 Patriot League victory over visiting Lehigh on Wednesday night at Bender Arena in Washington.

The Eagles improved to 15-9 overall and stayed atop the Patriot with an 11-2 record. Lehigh (13-13, 6-7) lost for just the second time in seven games.

American was led by junior guard Darius Gardner, who finished with 17 points. Senior center Tony Wroblicky scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and sophomore guard Jesse Reed added 14 points.

Freshman guard Austin Price was the high scorer for Lehigh with 20 points. No other Mountain Hawk scored more than six.

With 12:04 left in the game, American took a commanding 44-23 lead after a 3-pointer by junior guard John Schoof (12 points).

Lehigh pulled within 46-36 with 6:28 to play after freshman center Tim Kempton hit two free throws, but the Eagles soon padded the margin again. American led by 20 twice in the final minute, 62-42 and 64-44.

American took a 27-20 lead into intermission, outscoring Lehigh 15-2 over the last 8:32 of the first half.

Price had 14 of Lehigh’s 20 points in the opening half, shooting 6-for-10 from the field. He finished the night 8-for-14.

Lehigh turned the ball over 13 times in the opening half, 21 times in all. American committed 17 turnovers.

The Eagles shot 48.9 percent from the floor while limiting the Mountain Hawks to 34.9 percent shooting.