SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior guard Ricky Hudson (Sewell, N.J.) drained a three from the right corner as time expired to give the American International College men's basketball team a 74-73 Northeast-10 victory over Southern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.

The Yellow Jackets improved to 8-15 overall and 6-13 in the NE-10 with the walk-off win, which was their third in four tries. The Owls fell to 16-7 overall and 13-6 in conference play with the loss.

AIC trailed for most of the game after Southern Connecticut opened the contest with a 14-5 run. The Owls led by as many as 25-12 in the opening period before going into the locker room up 34-25 at the half.

The Yellow Jackets started the second half with an 8-0 run to make it a one-point game and eventually took their first lead on a put back layup from junior center David Campbell (Boston, Mass.), which was part of a 15-3 run that gave AIC a 59-50 lead nine minutes into the second period. SCSU responded with a 12-3 run to tie the score at 62-all with 7:19 to go.

The game remained tight the rest of the way and sophomore guard Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn.) knocked down a jumper as he was fouled to tie the game at 71-71 for the Owls with 51 seconds to go. He then hit the free throw that followed to give SCSU a one-point lead.

Campbell then missed a jumper at the other end and junior guard/forward Greg Langston (Stratford, Conn.) grabbed the rebound for the Owls with 40 seconds to go. Southern Connecticut then ran the clock down and Smith was fouled after grabbing the rebound with 4.7 seconds to go off a missed three from sophomore guard Luke Houston (Pearl River, Conn.).

Smith made the first free throw but missed the second, and the rebound was controlled by AIC junior guard Jason Perrier (Bridgeport, Conn.). The Yellow Jackets then advanced the ball to midcourt and called a timeout with 1.1 seconds on the clock to draw up a play.

Hudson ran around a screen in the paint, caught the inbounding pass from senior forward Brennan Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) in the right corner in front of the Yellow Jackets' bench and drained the game-winning three as time expired.

Hudson was one of five AIC players to score in double-figures, finishing the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Spencer Braithwaite (Dorchester, Mass.) led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points, going 6-of-11 from the field with three threes. He also handed out seven assists.

Campbell poured in 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds coming off the bench, while Perrier finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Al-Shabazz Jabateh (East Orange, N.J.) also netted 10 points with four boards and two assists.

Senior forward Trevon Hamlet (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field with four threes to lead the Owls, while Smith finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Langston totaled 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds.

AIC will play its final home game of the season Wednesday, February 20, when it hosts a Northeast-10 contest against the University of New Haven.