SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts-The American International College men's basketball team fell, 69-61, to Wilmington University on the first day of the AIC Holiday Classic on Saturday, December 16.
FAST FACTS:
Final score: Wilmington 69, AIC 61
Records:AIC falls to 6-5 overall while Wilmington improves to 7-3 overall.
Location:Henry A. Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts
STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Robert Durant: 18 points, 10 rebounds
Jordan Vidal: 12 points
Zekiah Owens: 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists
Wilmington:
Nick Richards: 25 points
Jermaine Head: 11 points
Miles Gillette: 10 points
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Tied at two-all early into the game, AIC broke the tie with a three from Jordan Vidal. After a Wildcats run put the hosts down 10-7 with 13:23 left in the first half, Robert Durant made a layup to bring the Yellow Jackets within one point. Minutes later, Wilmington had a five point advantage until Adonis Williams made a layup to put the AIC deficit to three points.
- After Vidal made a free throw at the 7:54 mark to have the Yellow Jackets down just two points, the Wildcats would go on a 6-0 run in the span of 1:38 to be up 20-12. Down 25-16 with 2:05 remaining in the half, AIC would chip away at the Wilmington lead with a dunk from Andrew Anderson followed by a pair of free throws from Durant. With one minute left in the half, Durant would connect on a layup to make it 27-22, but the Wildcat's Nick Richards would get a layup of his own to give Wilmington the 29-22 lead at the break.
- Paul Medlin's layup gave the Wildcats a 31-22 advantage to begin the second half, but Kassim Kaba drilled a three-pointer and then a layup from Zekiah Owens brought the Yellow Jackets within four points. At the 15:37 mark, AIC was able to get their first lead of the game since the 17:20 mark of the first half, with a triple from Jordan Vidal to put the hosts up 37-36 with 15:37 left in the contest.
- With 11:09 remaining in the game and down 43-41, Owens made another layup to tie the game, but the Yellow Jackets did not sink a field goal from the 10:10 mark to the 5:36 mark. After Richards made two free throws at the 6:18 mark to have Wilmington up 56-47, Vidal then made a layup to cut the deficit to seven.
- With 4:34 left, Adonis Williams attempted to cut into the Wildcat lead by drawing a foul and making both free throws, but then Wilmington's Zahir Robinson hit a three-pointer to give his team an eight point lead. As there was just 1:09 remaining in the contest, the Yellow Jackets continued to battle as Williams nailed a three to put the score at 66-61, prompting AIC head coach Andy Burkholder to take a 60-second timeout. The Yellow Jackets then began to foul and the Wildcats would hit three free throws to earn a 69-61 win over the Yellow Jackets.
GAME NOTES:
- Durant had a careerhigh in points on Saturday afternoon with 18. Durant has now scored in double figures in seven games this season.
- AIC outrebounded the Wildcats 51-36. This season, the Yellow Jackets have out-rebounded their opponents in nine of their 11 games.
- After having 12 points in the loss to Wilmington, Vidal has now scored in double figures in five of the six games he has played this season.
NEXT UP:
- The Yellow Jackets will next host Bloomfield College on the second day of the AIC Holiday Classic on Sunday, December 17 at 3 p.m.
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