MANCHESTER, N.H. Junior Cameron Dobbs (Albany, N.Y.) was named the Northeast-10 Championship Most Valuable Player as the American International men's basketball team won its first conference crown since 1994 over Saint Anselm at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium, 85-79.
Dobbs picked up where he left off in the semifinal victory over Southern New Hampshire, registering a game-high 27 points. His 3-pointer with 40 seconds left gave the Yellow Jackets a five-point edge, 77-72, and helped bury the Hawks.
On the next possession, St. A's senior Chris Santo turned it over to senior Marcus Porter (New Castle, Del.) who was promptly fouled. Porter hit 1-of-2 to push the lead to six.
While the Hawks sprinkled in shots to stay alive, senior Bobby Harris (Berlin, N.J.) went on to hit 7-8 free throws in the final 23 seconds to help ice the game.
Porter got it going early, netting the first six Yellow Jacket points, but junior Dobbs started to hit. Dobbs mixed it up a little, choosing to cut inside the first few possessions and drew the hoop and the harm for an old fashioned 3-point play.
After missing his first three from beyond the arc, Dobbs hit his first long ball at the 9:34 mark to give AIC the lead, 20-18. Within a few handles, the Hawks had it tied up again at 25 with a Roy Mabrey 3-pointer, but Dobbs quickly put them back up three on the other end with his second of the day.
The Yellow Jackets led by as many as seven in the first half (34-27) propelled by Dobbs knocking down three from the charity stripe after getting bumped while taking a three. He finished with 19 first half points off 6-9 shooting.
St. A's finished the half on a 6-2 run to pull back within three at the intermission, 36-33.
Out of the break, Porter got off to the fast start again, recording the first two buckets of the half, but Hawk Mark Schulze responded with his first points of the day, a 3-pointer and then a fast break layup off a turnover to start a 13-7 run to start the half and give St. A's the lead, 47-43.
The Yellow Jackets had a spark of their own in junior Trahmier Burrell (Albany, N.Y.). Forced to sit with two quick fouls in the first minute of play, Burrell made up for lost time in the second half, scoring twice in an 8-0 run with easy looks under the basket. He started the first eight minutes of the half 5-5 for 11 points and four key defensive rebounds. Burrell also got his hand on two Hawk shots.
Schulze put St. A's back up one with a nifty move to the hoop, but Porter got hot again, scoring three straight buckets to spark a 10-4 run and put his team back up, 57-54.
The Hawks tied it up off a free throw to make it 72 all at the 2:29 mark. Porter made a go-ahead jumper, his 22nd points of the game, making way for Dobbs gym-silencing three.
Dobbs averaged 32.5 points and hit 13-20 from behind the arc in the final two rounds of the tournament.
Porter was selected to the All-Tournament team, registering 23 points and 11 rebounds. Harris netted 20 and dished out four dimes.
The Yellow Jackets edged the battle on the glass, making 31 rebounds to St. A's 30, and shot over percent from the field for the game.
AIC awaits the NCAA selection show to determine what seed they are in the upcoming Division II National Tournament starting next Saturday, March 14. Click here to watch the selection show Sunday, March 8 at 10:30 p.m.
