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Springfield Republican - Basketball battle of the 413 area code: UMass will take on AIC
Daily Hampshire Gazette - UMass men's basketball hosts underdog AIC

Setting the Scene: The American International College men's basketball team will head up I-91 to take on Division I University of Massachusetts as a part of the 2010 Hall of Fame Tip-Off. This marks the first regular season game between the two programs since 1987.

Game Coverage: Live television coverage of the game will be on CBS 3 Now, Comcast channel 293. Radio coverage of the game can be heard in the greater Springfield area on 91.9 FM WAIC, or online at www.hot919.com and on Teamline.

About AIC: The Yellow Jackets enter today's contest with an overall record of 3-1 after recording dropping a 59-55 Northeast-10 contest to Le Moyne College Monday night at the MassMutual Center as part of the 2010 Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Junior forward Isiah Wallace leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding, averaging 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 17 assists. Senior guard Allen Aragbaye is second in scoring 15.8 points per contest and is averaging 4.5 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Ricky Hudson has been a spark off the bench in his three games played this season, averaging 10.3 points and three rebounds per game. Senior forward Denzel Jackson is averaging six points and a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out: AIC shot just 15.6 percent (5-32) in the second half as it surrendered an 18-point lead in a 59-55 loss to Le Moyne College at the 2010 Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the MassMutual Center Monday night, snapping a three-game winning streak to open the season. Senior forward Kevin Roth led all scorers with 21 points, 16 of which were in the second half, on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds for Le Moyne. Freshman center Jim Janson added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and had four blocked shots. Junior guard Adrian Hynes-Guery led AIC with 11 points, while senior forward Denzel Jackson added 10 points and grabbed eight boards. Junior forward Isiah Wallace had nine points and eight rebounds to go with three assists and three steals. The Yellow Jackets were 16-for-35 from the floor in the first half as they built a 41-27 halftime lead, but they made just five shots the rest of the way. The Dolphins outscored AIC 32-14 in the second half to steal the victory.

About UMass: The Minutemen come into tonight's game with a perfect 4-0 record after recording a 67-48 win over Texas Christian University Monday at the 2010 Hall of Fame Tip-Off. UMass also posted a 71-57 win over New Mexico State University at the Tip-Off Saturday. Four players are scoring in double figures for the Minutemen, led by Anthony Gurley who is averaging a team-best 21 points per game while shooting a team-best 56 percent from the field and 55 percent from three. Javorn Farrell and Freddie Riley are averaging 13.5 points per game each, while Sampson Carter is averaging 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

About the Series: The Minutemen lead the all-time series with AIC 20-14 and has won each of the last regular-season games between the two programs. The Minutemen recorded a 78-65 victory over AIC December 29, 1987 in the last regular season meeting between the two teams. The Yellow Jackets' last win in the series was a 67-61 decision at UMass during the 1981-82 season. AIC owns the longest winning streak in the series, winning eight in a row starting in 1950-51 and ending with an 80-75 win in 1957-58.

Last Time They Met: AIC dropped a 103-66 exhibition contest to the University of Massachusetts November 1, 2007 at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen led 50-38 at halftime and opened the second half with a 14-3 run to put the game out of reach. The Yellow Jackets held their own against UMass in the opening 10 minutes of the game, taking an early 12-5 advantage and led the Minutemen 23-21 after a layup from senior center Tal Cohen with 9:33 remaining in the first half. UMass regained the lead for good just four seconds later on a three-pointer from senior forward/guard Gary Forbes, which also started a 12-0 run for the Minutemen and gave them a 33-23 lead with 6:42 left in the opening period. A three-pointer from sophomore forward Ryan Leak and a layup from junior forward Colson Senat cut AIC's deficit to five at 33-28 with 6:13 left in the half, but UMass canned three straight three's in the next 1:10 to take control of the game at 42-28. Freshman forward Byron Richards led AIC with 12 points, going 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range in the final seven minutes of the game. Junior forward Lucius Millinder added 11 points and six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore guard Ricky Harris led all scorers with 25 points and was one of six UMass players to score in double figures. Forbes finished with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds.