Efficient shooting Nelson leads American past Lafayette

Updated: Feb 27, 2020, 05:15 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Saeed Nelson scored 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting and American beat Lafayette 79-59 on Wednesday night.

Nelson entered the game needing two points to become the school's all-time scoring leader. He now stands at 2,085 for his career. Nelson now is the third-leading scorer in Patriot League history.

Connor Nelson scored 16 points, Jamir Harris 11 and Stacy Beckton Jr. 10 for American, which shot 33 of 57 (57.9%). The Eagles (14-13, 10-6) distributed 14 assists and committed just seven turnovers.

Off the bench, Lukas Jarrett led Lafayette with 17 points and Myles Cherry 13 with 10 rebounds. Leo O'Boyle was the only starter in double figures with 11 points.

The Eagles took control with a 15-0 run in a little under six minutes of the first half with Nelson scoring eight. A 12-6 deficit turned into a 30-16 lead with 4:25 before halftime. The Eagles led 38-25 at intermission and led by double digits for all the second half.

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