SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College men's basketball team fell just short in its home opener to Northeast-10 Conference rival New Haven, 72-66, on Tuesday, November 21.
FAST FACTS:
Final score:New Haven 72, AIC66
Records:AIC is now 2-2, with a 0-2 NE10 mark; New Haven improves to 4-1 and 2-0 in the NE10.
Location:Butova Gym, Springfield, Massachusetts
STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Robert Durant: 12 points, 6-12 from the field
Adonis Williams: 11 points, seven rebounds
Jordan Vidal: 11 points
New Haven:
Elijah Bailey: 18 points
Michael Bourke: 15 points
Danny Upchurch: 14 points
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the first four minutes of the contest, New Haven was able to jump out to a 12-6 lead. Down 18-13 with 11:28 remaining in the first half, freshman Xion Golding connected on a layup and minutes later, junior Andrew Anderson hit a jumper to cut the Charger lead to just one point.
- After AIC gave up a three-pointer by New Haven's Elijah Bailey to put the Charger lead at 28-23, senior Kassim Kaba nailed a three of his own to put the Yellow Jackets down two points with three minutes left in the half. New Haven was able to score on a layup to have a 30-26 advantage at the break.
- Clinging to a 37-33 lead early in the second half, the Chargers proceeded to go on a 14-8 run to put the score at 51-41 with 10:04 remaining in the game. New Haven was then able to get its biggest lead of the contest when Michael Bourke drained a triple as the Chargers led 63-51 with 5:42 remaining.
- The Yellow Jackets showed that they still had a run in them, as they went on a 6-0 run in a span of 1:07 to be down just one point. Senior Tahlib Swan was an integral part of that run, as he connected on a three-pointer and then got a layup in the paint. Up one point with 1:24 left in the game, New Haven scored five unanswered points to close out the game and earn the 72-66 win.
GAME NOTES:
- Freshman Jordan Vidal has now scored in double figures in three of the first four games this season.
- For the second time this season, the Yellow Jackets had four players in double figures. Against New Haven, Durant had 12, freshman Adonis Williams and Vidal had 11, and Swan netted 10. The only other game where that happened this season was against Jefferson, when Swan had a 21, Golding added 11, and Owens and Vidal each chipped in 10.
- Just four games into his career, freshman Robert Durant put in a career-high in points with 12 in the loss to New Haven.
- Committing 10 turnovers in the first half, AIC was able to make a strong improvement in that category in the final 20 minutes of the contest by allowing just three turnovers.
NEXT UP:
- American International College will travel to Lakewood, New Jersey on Sunday, November 26 to take on Georgian Court University at 3 p.m.
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