Elijah Saunders scores 21, makes clutch free throws in Virginia's 63-58 win over American

1:54

American Eagles vs. Virginia Cavaliers: Game Highlights

American Eagles vs. Virginia Cavaliers: Game Highlights

Dec 22, 2024, 05:15 pm

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- — Elijah Saunders scored 21 points and made five of six free throws in the final half-minute to lead Virginia to a 63-58 victory over American University on Sunday.

Virginia led 32-28 at halftime and struggled to hold the lead in the second half. American hit five 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the second half and went ahead 47-42.

Virginia allowed only one made field goal in the next 7 minutes while building a 56-51 lead on Taine Murray's 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining.

Saunders made two free throws with 24 seconds left and one of two with 16 seconds to go for a 59-53 lead.

Matt Mayock finally hit a 3-pointer to snap the Eagles' 0-for-6 shooting skid and American was within 59-56. Saunders made two more free throws for a five-point margin with nine seconds remaining.

Saunders was 7-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line. He grabbed eight rebounds. Murray had 13 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers. Isaac McKneely added 11 points for the Cavaliers (7-5).

Mayock scored 16 points and made 4 of 5 3-pointers for American (6-6). Matt Rogers and Colin Smalls each scored 12.

------ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball