American University recorded its 20th win of the season and secured a date with Lehigh Saturday by beating the Army Black Knights 57-40 in a Patriot League tournament quarterfinal match-up at Bender Arena Wednesday night.
The No.3-seeded Eagles turned in a truly stifling defense performance, holding Army to 26.7 percent shooting from the field (15-for-57), while allowing the Black Knights to only score 11 points in the first half.
In all, 11 players saw action for the Eagles, with nine playing at least 12 minutes. Daniel Munoz lead American in scoring with 11 points and was the only AU player to reach double figures. For sixth-seeded Army, forward Ella Ellis led the way with 13 points, but with the exception of guard Julian Simmons (9 points) no other Army player scored more than six.
American will next play No.2 seed Lehigh in the Patriot League semifinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. Leigh punched their ticket to the semifinals with a 70-57 win over seventh-seed Colgate Wednesday.