SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-The American International men's basketball team took an early lead that they never relinquished and had five players reach double digits in scoring as they topped the Post Eagles 80-66.

AIC ends the calendar year at 5-7 overall, while Post drops to 2-7 on the campaign.

AIC went ahead for good just 3:32 into the contest when junior guard Bobby Harris (Berlin, N.J.) drained the first of the eight shots he would hit on the day to bring the score to 8-6. The Jackets would hit seven three-pointers in the first half, with Harris, senior guard Jason Perrier (Bridgeport, Conn.) and classmate and guard Janek Schmidkunz (Berlin, Germany) each draining a pair of deep balls, and despite the inside dominance of Post's Josh Tatum, who hit seven-of-nine in the frame, led 39-30 at the half.

Post did go on an early second-half run and cut the lead to two at 46-44 with 15:33 left in regulation when Tatum buried a basket in the paint, but Harris broke down the court and responded with a two of his game-high 18, and that kicked off an 18-3 run for the Yellow Jackets that put the game well out of reach. The teams traded a few more baskets to lead to the 80-66 final.

Senior guard Spencer Braitwaite completed an impressive double-double, ringing up a dozen points and ten assists, while senior forward Mark Ellis Jr. (Stamford, Conn.) also completed a double-double with ten points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Oscar Assie (Ansonia, Conn.) only played 16 minutes but just missed a double-double himself, posting ten rebounds and nine points.

AIC will next play January 4 at 3:30 p.m. when they host Molloy College in a non-conference contest.