SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The American International College men's basketball team dropped a tightly contested 63-55 Northeast-10 contest to first place Adelphi University Saturday afternoon at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
The Panthers, who are receiving votes in the latest NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, improved to 16-5 overall and 13-4 in the Northeast-10 with the win. The Yellow Jackets fell to 6-15 overall and 4-13 in conference play with the loss.
AIC held a 17-15 lead midway through the first half before Adelphi went on a 13-2 run to take a 28-19 lead with 6:23 left in the first half. The Panther led 36-28 at the break, but it was the Yellow Jackets with the fast start to the second half, opening the frame with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 38.
The two teams traded the lead back and forth and saw the score tied on five different occasions before Adelphi went on a late 8-0 run to break a 53-53 tie that gave it a 61-53 lead with 26 seconds to go in the game and put away the win.
The Panthers used a balanced attack to secure the win with five players scoring in double-figures. Senior guard Robert Johnson (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led all scorers with 19 points, while junior guard John Calarco (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added 11 points with six boards and four assists off the bench.
Senor guard Richard Harkins (Bellmore, N.Y.) netted 10 points and dished out five assists, while junior guard Chris Ranglin (Yonkers, N.Y.) added 10 points with six boards, two assists and two steals. Junior forward Bradley Simpson (Goulburn, Australia) also scored 10 points while pulling down seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Spencer Braithwaite (Dorchester, Mass.) poured in 17 points with two assists and two steals for AIC, while fellow sophomore guard
Janek Schmidkunz (Berlin, Germany) dropped in 14 points with five assists. Graduate guard
Sesoo Ikpah (Williamstown, N.J.) added eight points with three assists, while sophomore forward
Brennan Cooper (Springfield, Mass.) scored six points while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Adelphi shot 50 percent (23-46) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-14) from three, while the Yellow Jackets shot just 38.8 percent (19-49) from the field and 43.5 percent (10-23) from three.
AIC will next host Le Moyne College Wednesday night in a 7:30 p.m. Northeast-10 contest at Butova Gymnasium.
