BROOKVILLE, N.Y.-The American International men's basketball team dropped their season opener today against the Dowling Golden Lions by a score of 66-61.

The first half went to the Yellow Jackets thanks in large part to solid shooting; AIC shot 13-of-22 in the opening 20 minutes, including nine points on three of four from senior guard Janek Schmidkunz (Berlin, Germany), with fellow senior guard Spencer Braithwaite (Dorchester, Mass.) also scoring nine in the first frame. At the break, AIC led by a 35-26 score.

However, in the second half, Dowling came out firing, shooting 14-of-24 and outrebounding AIC 21-13 in the process. Over the final twenty minutes, Golden Lions' freshman guard Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y.) had a perfect five-for-five half, with two three-point shots and two free throws as well to ring up 13 points in just 11 minutes of play, and additionally picked up nine points on three of three shooting by sophomore center Evan Maxwell (East Islip, N.Y.).

AIC hit just nine shots in the second frame, and a ten-point run from the 9:30 mark through the 12:07 mark put Dowling in front with a lead they did not relinquish. AIC did pull within one with 2:50 left, but did not make another basket after that point, falling by the 66-61 final.

Hickey led all scorers with 19 points, while Maxwell had 12 points to go with a game-high 13 rebounds; junior guard Bobby Harris (Berlin, N.J.) led all AIC shooters with 15 points, while senior center Mark Ellis (Stamford, Conn.) had nine boards to pace the Jackets.

AIC returns to action tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. when they play the LIU-Post Pioneers in a non-conference contest.