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American wins first game, beats Howard 59-53

Dec 2, 2009 - 3:57 AM WASHINGTON(AP) -- Riley Grafft scored 13 points and American held off Howard 59-53 on Tuesday night in a game between winless teams.

The Eagles (1-7) snapped their worst losing streak to open a season since the 1994-95 team began 0-11 and finished 9-19.

The game was tied at 9 with 8:46 to go in the first half and at 19 with 2:13 left. American used a 5-0 run to lead 24-19 lead at halftime.

Nick Hendra began the second half with a 3-pointer for the Eagles' largest lead.

The Bison (0-8) pulled ahead at 40-38, but the game was tied three more times, the last at 45 with 5:01 left. American then scored six straight points.

After Howard pulled within 53-51 with 1:11 left, the Eagles were 6-for-6 from the foul line.

Hendra and Stephen Lumpkins added 12 points for American.

Calvin Thompson led the Bison with 14 points and Dadrian Collins and Paul Kirkpatrick had 13 apiece.