GAME NOTES: The Presbyterian Blue Hose and the American University Eagles are set to square off on Friday night in round-robin play of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Presbyterian is coming off Tuesday night's 82-72 triumph over Piedmont in its home opener. Four days prior to that, the Blue Hose opened their season with a 113-44 drubbing at the hands of fourth-ranked Duke in the regional host round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

American kicked off its 2014-15 campaign last Friday at Temple and was turned away, 40-37, in a defensive battle. The Eagles followed that up with a 49-46 home win over St. Francis-PA this past Monday.

These teams have never previously faced each other on the hardwood.

The Blue Hose saw top scorer and rebounder DeSean Murray (13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) go down with an injury late in Tuesday's win over Piedmont. Murray, a freshman, is expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks. That is tough news for an already thin Presbyterian squad that lost last season's second-leading scorer, Reggie Dillard, to a season-ending injury in the preseason. With the Blue Hose connecting on only 1-of-10 3-pointers against Piedmont, they dialed up the defensive pressure and scored 23 points off 17 turnovers. That will likely need to be the team's formula for success throughout the season, as the only active players averaging double figures are Jordan Downing (13.0 ppg) and William Truss (12.0 ppg).

The Eagles have fully embraced their defensive identity. John Schoof (13.0 ppg) and Jesse Reed (12.0 ppg) headline an offense that averages only 43.0 points through two games. At the other end of the floor, American has held its first two opponents to that same scoring average on just 29.9 percent shooting. Reed had 18 points against St. Francis as he knocked down 4-of-7 3- point tries. Schoof was 2-of-3 from distance and finished with 14 points for the Eagles, who held a 30-20 rebounding advantage for the game.

As they search for an offensive identity in the wake of two key injuries, the Blue Hose are likely to struggle against American's slow-it-down, deliberate tempo that forces foes to operate in half-court sets.