SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The American International College men's basketball team got off to a slow start and wasn't able to recover as it dropped a 68-60 Northeast-10 contest at Le Moyne College Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 contest.
The Dolphins improved to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Northeast-10, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 2-4 for the season and 1-3 in conference play.
Le Moyne had balanced scoring in the game with four of its five starters scoring in double figures, led sophomore center Jim Janson (Scotia, N.Y.) who registered a double-double with 14 points on a 6-of-8 shooting performance and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Brian Zapisek (Manlius, N.Y.) also tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, while Junior guard Derrek Tartt (Chicago, Ill.) netted 11 points with three assists and two steals. Senior guard James Cormier (Trumbull, Conn.) added 10 points and dished out five assists.
Sophomore guard
Spencer Braithwaite (Dorchester, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points to lead AIC, going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and hitting each of his four free throw attempts. Sophomore guard
Janek Schmidkunz (Berlin, Germany) knocked down three triples to give nine points off the bench.
Sophomore forward
David Campbell (Boston, Mass.) was held to just five points thanks in part to solid Le Moyne defense and foul trouble throughout the game, putting him 11 shy of his season average. He also had eight boards in the game.
Braithwaite opened the game with a three, but the Dolphins answered with a 12-point run over then enxt five minutes to take the lead for good in the game. Le Monye then went on a 13-2 run later in the period to open a 30-13 lead with 3:41 left in the hale and eventually took a 34-18 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Dolphins stretched their lead to a game-high 22 points with a 10-2 rush to open the second half and looked to be in complete control of the game with a 42-20 lead. AIC's finally came alive on the offensive end after that, outscoring Le Moyne 23-8 over the next eight and a half minutes to pull within seven, 50-43 with 8:47 to go in the game. Braithwaite hit four of his five threes in the game during that stretch to help get the Yellow Jackets back in the game.
Le Moyne used a 7-0 push to push its lead back to 15 at 63-48 with 3:28 to go and held off another AIC charge to secure the win.
The Dolphins shot 48.1 percent (26-54) from the field while shooting just 18.8 percent (3-16) from three in the game, while the Yellow Jackets shot just 33.3 percent (18-54) from the floor and shot 40 percent (10-25) from beyond the arc. Le Moyne was 13-of-15 from the line, while AIC was 14-of-20.
The Yellow Jackets will next host a Northeast-10 contest against Southern Connecticut State University Saturday. The opening tip is set for 3:30 p.m. at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
