SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts- The American International College men's basketball team was unable to continue its winning ways at home, as it was defeated by the Chargers of New Haven, 72-69.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Tahlib Swan, as he put up 17 points and eight rebounds. Juwan Moody racked up 14 points, including hitting three three-pointers.
The Jackets were first to score in the first half with Bruce Spruell converting a well-defended layup. The Jackets took a four-point lead after Swan and Rasheed Howard both made their layups within the first two minutes. The Chargers strung together six points after Danny Upchurch hit an open three-point shot to cut the lead to one, as Kessly Felizor was fouled and made both his shots to give the Chargers a two-point lead with just under 15 minutes left. The Jackets would respond with 13 minutes left, hitting a three-point shot from Moody along with a free throw from Swan to put AIC up by two. New Haven responded right back with a seven-point barrage, with Joseph Doganiero hitting a three-point shot along with Kessly Felizor making a pair of free throws before coming right back for an easy layup with 10:40 left. Within 20 seconds, the Jackets and Chargers exchanged long-distance shots, keeping the Charger lead at five before Kessly Felizor made three points after a fouled layup with 9:42 in the first half.
The Chargers kept a full head of steam, as Roy Kane Jr. made both his free throws and Michael Bourke made a three-pointer from the right side of the arc to give the Chargers an 11-point lead before a layup from Howard stopped the scoring streak at 7:26. Bourke would try and convert another long-distance shot, but was fouled, making all three of his shots to push New Haven back up by double digits at 7:03. Swan made a nice layup, having to double pump to get a clear lane at 6:16, bringing the lead down to 10 before a pair of Chargers baskets from Kane Jr. and Felizor brought the lead back to 14. The Jackets were able to cut the lead down all the way down to three after an 11-point stretch, seeing three-point shots hit by Swan and Moody, giving AIC a needed momentum boost. The Yellow Jackets and Chargers exchanged baskets before a free throw from Moody cut the lead to just two points to end the first half, with the Chargers up 35-33.
A free throw by Mihalo Vasic started the scoring off for the Chargers just 17 seconds into the second half, while Swan would make a layup 10 seconds later to make it a one-possession game. After Felizor made both his free throws, Spruell had an opportunity to tie the game up after being fouled on a layup at 16:31, but was unable to make the free throw. The Chargers went on an eight-point run, with a pair of three-point shots from Upchurch and a layup by Felizor. That was interrupted by a three-point play by Swan at 12:31, making it a six-point game for AIC.
At 12:11, a shootout between the Chargers and Yellow Jackets began, as both teams began to swap baskets, with Jayvon Pitts-Young hitting a pair of three-point shots for AIC and Joesph Doganiero and Felizor making baskets for New Haven, making it a five-point game for the Chargers at 11:16. The Chargers nearly pushed their lead back to double digits after Tommy Hunt and Najee Larcher made layups at 9:26 and 8:16 respectively, before Spruell made a layup and Howard converted both his free throws after being fouled trying to make a layup, cutting the Chargers' lead down to five at 6:56. The Yellow Jackets were able to further cut into the lead after Howard made a free throw and Swan converted on both his opportunities at 6:21 to make it just a two-point lead for New Haven.
For the first time since 19:08 of the first half, the Jackets and Chargers were tied, 57-57, after an acrobatic layup by Zekiah Owens at 4:28, giving the Jackets a nine-point drive. The lead wouldn't last long however, as Kane Jr. was fouled on a layup and made his free shot, and Michael Bourke hit a three-pointer to give the Chargers a six-point lead with 3:10 left. New Haven's lead increased to eight after a dunk by Felizor and two free throws by Kane at 2:14 in the second half. The Yellow Jackets made one last push, getting three straight free throws, a layup from Swan and a layup and three-pointer from Spruell, but it would be too little too late, as AIC would fall, 72-69.
AIC will next be in action on Saturday, February 4, when the team travels to Syracuse, New York, for a 3 p.m. matchup against Le Moyne College.
