SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College men's basketball team came out victorious in a crucial Northeast-10 Conference matchup against Franklin Pierce University on Saturday, January 27.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 86, Franklin Pierce 83
Location: Henry A. Butova Gymnasium (Springfield, Massachusetts)
Records: AIC improves to 11-10 and 6-7 in NE10 play; FPU falls to 10-9 and 5-9 in NE10 action.
STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Kassim Kaba: 17 points, four rebounds
Tahlib Swan: 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists
Franklin Pierce:
Devonte McCall: 22 points, 11 rebounds
Falu Seck: 19 points and five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Ravens' Falu Seck opened the scoring for the game with a three-pointer, but freshman guard Jordan Vidal had an instantaneous response with a three-pointer of his own within the first minute of play.
- A layup from Mike McDevitt made the score 11-9, AIC, through the first five minutes, but the Yellow Jackets emerged with a 7-2 run, including back-to-back threes from freshman guard Adonis Williams and senior captain Tahlib Swan.
- A three-pointer from Devonte McCall cut the AIC lead to one, but it responded with another run to re-extend its lead. A pair of threes from senior captain Kassim Kaba, free throws from Swan, and a layup from freshman forward Robert Durant gave the Yellow Jackets a 29-18 lead.
- A McDevitt jumper cut the AIC lead to one with just under four minutes to go, but Franklin Pierce wasn't able to take the lead until a McDevitt layup was made with two minutes to go in the first half, putting the Ravens on top, 41-40.
- AIC took the lead back with a three from sophomore guard Charles Chung, but Jordan Lackey tied the game up for Franklin Pierce with a layup, and at halftime, there was no distance between the two teams with the score knotted up at 43 apiece.
- The Yellow Jackets came out stinging in the second half. A three from Williams got the ball rolling, which he followed with another layup, and then a Swan jumper put AIC up 50-43 before a layup from McCall quieted the crowd.
- A 2-for-2 trip to the line by sophomore forward Zekiah Owens gave the Yellow Jackets a nine-point lead, 58-49.
- Another three from Williams followed suit, and a Durant dunk pushed the lead all the way up to 14 with 13 minutes to go.
- Senior guard Lateef Bilewu's only points on the night came from a layup to make the score 69-53, which was the Yellow Jackets' largest lead of the night, with 11 minutes to go.
- The Ravens responded with a 7-0 run that spanned barely a minute, capped off by a McDevitt jumper.
- A Kaba three-pointer made the score 80-72, AIC, with less than four minutes to go. Seck responded with an and-one to cut the deficit to five, and it teetered between four and five until an Asante Sandiford free throw with 27 seconds remaining made it a one-possession game at 83-80.
- That was as close as the Ravens got as the Yellow Jackets broke the press on the following possession and a dunk from Durant sealed the deal.
GAME NOTES:
- Swan's double-double was his fifth of the season.
- Kaba's 17 points was a season-high and marked the first time he led the team in scoring this season. He also had a season-high five three-pointers made.
NEXT UP:
- AIC will travel to New York to take on Pace University on Wednesday, January 31, at 7:30 p.m.
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