American Upset in Patriot League Tournament Quarters

American had such a good thing going during conference play, only to get upset by Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals. Bucknell held the Eagles to 36.2 percent shooting to escape with a 64-59 win in the District.

Tied 55-55 with less than two minutes to go, Bison guard Walter Ellis drained a three to put Bucknell up 58-55. Down the stretch, the seventh-seeded Bison stood tall to complete the upset of #3 American.

Bucknell previously beat #10 Holy Cross in a play-in game to get to the quarters on Tuesday.

The loss is disappointing for American. They notched 12 conference wins this year, as many as they had in their last two seasons combined. In what is quite possible his last collegiate game ever, Patriot League Player of the Year Sa’eed Nelson scored a game-high 22 points in a loss. With the loss, American fell to 16-14.

“When it came down to it, we hit some tough shots but they hit tougher shots,” Nelson told reporters after the loss. “All the guys in our locker room played hard and gave it everything they had but it didn’t turn out our way.”

Additionally, the loss by American eliminates any chance of a DMV team winning the tournament. Navy also fell on Thursday night, and Loyola (MD) fell in a play-in game on Tuesday to Lehigh.