Box Score

Springfield, Mass. – The No. 8 seeded American International College men's basketball team lost to No. 9 seeded Saint Anselm, 81-65, in the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament at Butova Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets cap off the season with an overall record of 15-13, while the win improves the Hawks to 16-12 and sends them to the NE-10 quarterfinals to face No. 1 seeded Bentley on Monday night.

Sophomore guard Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) led all scorers with 25 points on 10-11 from the field and 5-5 shooting from beyond the arc to go with four rebounds and two steals for Saint Anselm. Junior forward Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J.) contributed 20 points and eight boards off the bench, while junior guard Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) added 13 points and dished out five assists.

Freshman guard #Isiah Wallace# (Springfield, Mass.) recorded a double-double by scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for AIC. Junior forward #Aikeem Vanderhorst# (Bay Shore, N.J.) and sophomore guard #Sesoo Ikpah# (Williamstown, N.J.) each scored 10 points and snagged seven boards.

The Yellow Jackets took a 35-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Hawks opened the second period with a 10-0 run, including seven points from Carenza, to take a 38-35 lead. Another Carenza bucket gave Saint Anselm a 42-40 lead with 15:36 remaining and the Hawks never looked back. Saint Anselm outscored AIC 53-30 in the second half to register the victory and advance to the next round.

Despite holding a 42-31 advantage on the glass and grabbing 20 offensive boards the Yellow Jackets were held to just nine second chance points, while the Hawks scored 19 second chance points with only eight offensive rebounds.