SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts- The American International College men's basketball team returned from holiday break on Friday, December 30, when it put its three-game winning streak on the line against Philadelphia. The Rams entered the contest with an 8-4 overall record and a sixth-place regional ranking. Tahlib Swan only had four points on the night, but his lay-in on a baseline out-of-bounds play with 0.5 seconds on the shot clock gave the Yellow Jackets the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets went on to win the game, 64-61.

Juwan Moody led the team with 24 points as he went 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Bruce Spruell had 13 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in 36 minutes of play. In addition to his four points, Swan pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Six minutes into the game, Spruell laid in a shot to give the Yellow Jackets the 14-10 lead. After forcing a bad Ram shot, Spruell knocked down a triple to push their lead to seven. The Rams answered with three layups by Eric Long and cut the AIC lead down to one with 11 minutes showing.

As play continued, the Rams built a seven-point lead, 36-29, with four minutes left in the first. Zekiah Owens tipped in a missed Swan shot and cut the deficit to five at the 2:59 mark. Jayvon Pitts-Young knocked down a three-pointer and made it a two point game. As the horn went off, Andre Gibbs answered with a three as the Rams took the five-point lead into the half.

The largest lead of the night for the Rams came at 16:10 when Long hit a layup and gave them the 48-37 advantage. Four minutes went by, and the Yellow Jackets' Spruell capped off the Yellow Jackets' 12-0 run to put AIC up 49-48.

With 4:23 left in regulation, Moody knocked finished the three-point play and tied the score at 60. The Rams took a three pointer, but seven footer Malcom Gilbert grabbed the offensive board and drew the foul. He went to the line and knocked down the first, but missed the second one with 3:56 left in the game.

The Yellow Jackets had the ball with 26 ticks on the clock and 0.5 seconds on the shot clock. Coach Andy Burkholder drew up a play and Yellow Jackets executed it to perfection. The Yellow Jackets stacked up from the left elbow to the three-point line. Swan was the last player in the stack and cut down the lane where Spruell, the inbounder, tossed it up to a jumping Swan who tipped it in and gave AIC the 62-61 lead.

The Rams turned the ball over on their next possession and had to foul. They fouled Pitts-Young, who went to the line and knocked down the pair with eight seconds left. The Rams ran the ball up and court and called a timeout. Josh Bradanese got an open look but it was off right as time expired.

The Yellow Jackets round out their non-conference season with four straight non-conference wins. This win also extends their consecutive game-winning streak to four. Next up for the Yellow Jackets is a game against Assumption College on Wednesday, January 4 at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.