COLCHESTER, Vermont Late defensive efforts and free throws by the American International College men's basketball team lifted the Yellow Jackets past Saint Michael's College 85-75 on Saturday, February 1, in Northeast-10 Conference play.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score:AIC 85, St. Michael's 75
Record:The Yellow Jackets move to 7-15 (4-9 NE10), while St. Michael's moves to 6-14 (3-10 NE10)
Location:Ross Sports Center Colchester, Vermont

STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Zekiah Owens: 21 points, nine rebounds
Xion Golding: 15 points, three rebounds
Bane Terzic: 15 points, 2 rebounds
Goree Venable-Gonzalez: 11 points, five rebounds
Logan Santiago: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists

St. Michael's:
Kasai Brown: 19 points, six rebounds
Jordan Guzman: 18 points, four rebounds
Eli DiGrande: 13 points, six rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• On their second possession of the game, Yellow Jackets redshirt-sophomore guard Bane Terzic drained a three to open the scoring for both teams. AIC trailed 10-9 when senior forward Zekiah Owens knocked down a pair at the line. The Purple Knights answered on their next possession with a three. Almost a minute later, senior guard Logan Santiago found his spot as Owens passed the ball and Santiago nail the triple.
• Starting with 12:46 on the clock, the lead changed four times in just over a minute's worth of play as AIC had the 18-17 lead off a layup by Owens. To keep the run going, Santiago stole a pass and found Owens, who was running towards the rim for the fastbreak layup that made it 22-17. After a missed three, Owens found freshman guard Jalen Jordan off the rebound for the fast break jumper and forced a home timeout.
• The shooting woes for the hosts did not stop out of the huddle and the Yellow Jackets shut out the Purple Knights on the next five possessions. AIC led by as many as 19 points, but St. Michael's was able to close the gap as the Purple Knights made it 45-31 at the break.
• The run did not end after the teams emerged from the locker room. The Purple Knights scored the first four points of the second half and AIC head coach Andy Burkholder called a timeout. After talking things over, the Yellow Jackets erased those points with four points of their own.
• The home team cut its deficit to six points with 13:18 on a pair of free throws, and followed that up by making it 56-53 two minutes later as Burkholder called a timeout.
• AIC built its lead back up to three possessions when Owens laid in a layup with under seven and a half minutes remaining. Coming down the stretch, the Yellow Jackets were able to keep the Purple Knights at arm's length. St. Michael's began to try to extend the game by fouling, but the Yellow Jackets went seven-for-10 at the line and took the 85-75 victory.

UP NEXT:

• The Yellow Jackets open a two-game home stand with Adelphi University on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 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.