SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts Despite a late second-half surge, the American International College men's basketball team suffered a 75-64 loss to No. 24 Le Moyne College on Saturday, February 3 in Northeast-10 Conference action.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score:Le Moyne 75, AIC 64
Location:Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts
Records:AIC falls to 11-12 and 6-9 in NE10 play; Le Moyne improves to 18-5 and 15-1 in NE10 action.
STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Tahlib Swan: 20 points, seven rebounds, three blocks
Robert Durant: 18 points, seven rebounds, two steals
Adonis Williams: 10 points, 5-of-6 from the free throw line
Le Moyne:
Isaiah Eisendorf: 21 points, eight rebounds
Robert Jones III: 14 points, six rebounds
Tanner Hyland: 14 points, 4-for-6 from three-point range
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the first 5:49 of play, Isaiah Eisendorf scored eight quick points to help Le Moyne jump out to a 10-3 lead. Down 14-4 at the 10:46 mark of the first half, senior captain Tahlib Swan drilled a three to cut the Dolphin lead to seven points. But Le Moyne got its lead right back to double-digits with a triple from Tanner Hyland. Down 11 with 8:56 left in the half, the Yellow Jackets continued to chip away at the lead with a three-pointer from freshman forward Robert Durant.
- Minutes later, the Dolphins build their lead when Hyland drained one from beyond the arc, followed by two consecutive layups from Tom Brown, to give Le Moyne a 27-16 advantage. With the Dolphins holding a 14-point cushion over AIC with 1:42 remaining before the break, the Yellow Jackets got within single digits, thanks to a three from freshman guard Xion Golding and a layup from freshman guard Adonis Williams. A layup in the paint from Daniel Kaigler gave Le Moyne a 36-25 lead at halftime.
- After giving up a layup defensively just 14 seconds into the second half, AIC responded with a trifecta from senior captain Kassim Kaba to cut the Dolphin lead to 10 points yet again. At the 16:47 mark of the half, Le Moyne would get its biggest lead of the game thus far at 16 points, with a three from Robert Jones III. With 11:06 left in regulation, freshman forward Robert Durant converted on another layup to make it 54-40.
- The Dolphins extended their advantage to 18 points at the 7:58 mark of the half, when Hyland made a layup to put the score at 63-45. The Yellow Jackets' best push to get close to the lead came with just over five minutes to play, when they went on a 7-0 run to bring the score to 68-58 with 4:13 remaining in the contest. Swan came up big during that run, draining two threes. AIC wouldn't stop trying to claw their way back as Swan made back-to-back layups at the 1:34 mark to bring his team within 10 points. Ten points would be the closest the Yellow Jackets would get for the rest of the game, though, as the Dolphins sunk their free throws and earned a 75-64 victory.
GAME NOTES:
- Swan's 20-point performance marks the fifth time that he's scored 20 or more points this season.
- After shooting 40 percent from three-point range on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets have now shot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc in four games this season.
- With 18 points against Le Moyne, Durant has tied his career-high for points. Durant has scored in double figures in 10 games this season.
NEXT UP:
- AIC will continue its homestand as it faces off with Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. in NE10 play.
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