SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Senior Bobby Harris (Berlin, N.J.) scored a game-high 33 points to help lead American International College past Saint Michael's College, 88-80, in Northeast-10 men's basketball action this evening from the Butova Gymnasium.
The Yellow Jackets who are ranked first in the East Region and 22nd in the latest Division II Media Poll improve to 15-3 on the season and 10-2 in conference play while the Purple Knights drop to 12-6 overall and 8-5 in league action.
In a game of extended runs over the first 25 minutes of game-play, the next 10 minutes saw five ties and 15 lead changes before AIC took the lead for good.
Down 66-65 with 5:42 to play Harris took over scoring five straight points to give the Jackets a three-point edge. Then after a three from senior Mike Holton Jr. (Portland, Ore.) made the score 70-69 the teams traded free throws keeping it a one-point game with 4:23 to play.
It was then junior Cameron Dobbs (Albany, N.Y.) who erupted the crowd and all but sealed the game as he sandwiched the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with a pair of three-pointers the second of which came from across the parking lot to extend the AIC lead to 79-71 with just 1:20 to play.
The defense struggled to stop St. Mike's down the stretch, but the Jackets converted their free throws and Senior Marcus Porter (New Castle, Del.) rocked the rim to get the crowd off their feet with less than 30 seconds to play leading to the final score.
Porter ignited the home crowd right off the opening possession of the game with a steal and slam on the other end to start a 9-0 run at the beginning of the game. The spurt culminated with a three-point basket from Dobbs with 16:28 to play.
Then up 21-8 after another Dobbs three and a layup by sophomore Max Risch (Marion, Mass.) the Purple Knights embarked on a 17-2 run to take the 25-23 lead with 5:01 remaining in the half.
The run was highlighted by seven consecutive points over a two-minute span from senior James Cambronne (De Bary, Fla.) who found three separate ways to score; draining a three, hitting a pair from the charity stripe and converting a layup. Senior Corey Crawford II (Dover, Del.) then hit the go-ahead jumper for the two-point advantage.
AIC then closed the half on a 13-6 run to make the score 36-31 at the intermission. The outburst was highlighted with seven points from Harris including his 1,000th career point when he dialed one in from long range with 1:46 left in the half.
The Purple Knights came out of the locker room fired up and embarked on an 11-3 spurt to grab a three point advantage after the first four minutes of play to set up the thrilling finish.Senior Dom Ditlefsen (Portland, Ore.) tickled the twine from behind the line on a pair of occasions over the stretch to highlight the scoring.
Dobbs finished with 25 points and Porter added 11 points a five boards and a trio of steals for an all-around solid effort.
Crawford led the way for Saint Michael's with 21 to pace five scorers with double-figure efforts. Bonds dropped 17 and added nine rebounds while Ditlefsen and Holton Jr. added 11 points apiece and Cambronne chipped in 10 for the visitors.
Both teams shot 46 percent from the field, but it was the 11 three-pointers including six from Dobbs and four from Harris that led the way as the Jackets shot 36 percent from behind the arc in the game. The Purple Knights controlled the glass with the slim 39-30 margin.
American International returns to action this Saturday as they travel to Saint Anselm for a 3:30 p.m. affair.
