SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College men's basketball team opened its season on Saturday, November 9 as they hosted Holy Family University. The Yellow Jackets used consistent offense while locking down on defense in key moments to take the 86-71 win over the Tigers.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score:AIC 86, Holy Family 71
Record:AIC moves to 1-0; HFU falls to 0-1
Location:Butova Gym Springfield, Massachusetts

STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Goree Venable-Gonzalez: 20 points, four rebounds, 9-9 from the field
Shyheim Hicks: 15 points, five rebounds, five assists
Zekiah Owens: 14 points, six rebounds, five assists
Logan Santiago: 13 points

Holy Family:
Devon Moore: 21 points, three assists
Branden Aughburns: 15 points, 11 rebounds
Brendan Hoban: 15 points, four rebounds, four assists

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Yellow Jackets wasted no time being aggressive as senior guard Goree Venable-Gonzalez drew a foul on the shot and hit the second freebie. Senior forward Zekiah Owens helped the cause with a jumper off the pass from freshman guard Jalen Gordon. On the next AIC possession, Jordan knocked down his shot and gave AIC the 5-0 lead. Junior guard Jordan Vidal swished a three with 17:32 on the clock. The Tigers answered back with an 11-0 run of their own and forced an AIC timeout. Holy Family kept scoring as they extended their lead to 18-10 over the next six minutes.
• Junior guard Shyheim Hicks tied things up and then gave AIC the 19-18 lead with a pair of free throws halfway through the first half. Trailing 26-25, junior guard Xion Golding hit a layup and drew a foul with 5:48 on the clock. He converted the free throw and put AIC up by a pair. On the very next AIC possession, Hicks put the ball through the net and forced the Tigers to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Tigers turned the ball over, and senior guard Logan Santiago made them pay with a three in transition off the pass from Vidal. The run kept going as Venable-Gonzalez pulled up in the paint and sent one through the nylon. Holy Family stopped the run with 3:43 remaining in the half.
• Just as one stopped, the Yellow Jackets started another push to pull ahead of Holy Family as they took a 14 point lead. The visitors were able to cut their deficit to 11, 44-33, before the first half horn sounded.
• Out of the break, the Yellow Jackets led 46-38 when Hicks swished a three to give AIC the double-digit lead. After a missed shot on the other end of the floor, Owens used an AIC offensive rebound to grow the AIC lead by a pair before Venable-Gonzalez put the Yellow Jackets up by 15 with a layup on the break. With 6:55 remaining in the game, the Tigers made a push and made it a nine point game, but the Yellow Jackets proved to be too much as AIC took the game 86-71.

UP NEXT:

• The Yellow Jackets will take on Jefferson on Sunday, November 10, at 2 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates on the men's basketball team, follow@AIC_MBBonTwitterandInstagram. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.