SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts-The American International College men's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to hold off the Concordia Clippers, 70-64, in non-conference action at the Henry Butova Gymnasium.
AIC improves to 5-7 on the campaign.
Both teams struggled in the first half offensively, and neither team could take command as both sides traded baskets in the early going; a three-pointer by Kassim Kaba put AIC up 14-9 before a free throw and then seven straight points by Concordia's Stephen Milhaven made it 17-14 Concordia, but Kaba answered back with a pair of threes to tie the game and take the lead for AIC.
The deep ball was what allowed AIC to build their lead late in the half; Jayvon Pitts-Young and Tahlib Swan each hit one in an 8-0 run for the Jackets and AIC ended the half up 34-28 despite shooting just 5-of-18 from inside the arc and 3-of-6 at the line thanks to seven total threes, four by Kaba.
Though Concordia opened the second half scoring, AIC went on a run to push the lead to double digits for the first time on the night, as four players hit four buckets in a 2:01 stretch, with Swan, Juwan Moody, Rasheed Howard, and Bruce Spruell each draining layups to make it 42-30 for the Jackets.
The ebb and flow continued, with a seven-point run by the Clippers' Elijah Brown being responded to with an eight-point rally by AIC that Moody capped with a long three just past the halfway point of the frame. Concordia cut into the lead several times, chipping away until it was as low as four, 61-56 with 3:35 left after a Brown three, but they could not close the gap further, thanks in large part to missing their first six free throws of the second half.
Meanwhile, Pitts-Young had half of his team-best 14 in the final 3:10, mostly on free throws, as the Clippers tried but failed to tie the game up.
Concordia's Milhaven led all scorers with 22 and also added 11 rebounds for a double-double; Moody and Kaba each had a dozen points, Howard and Spruell each 11, and Swan had 10 to go with 10 rebounds to lead AIC.
AIC returns to conference play with a matchup against Bentley at home on December 19 at 6:00 p.m.
