SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College men's basketball team honored its seniors and the legendary Henry Payne '68 by thrashing Southern Connecticut State University 87-65 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Saturday, February 8.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score:AIC 87, Southern Connecticut State 65
Record:AIC improves to 8-16 overall and 5-10 in the NE10, while Southern Connecticut drops to 12-9 overall and 7-7 in the NE10.
Location:Henry A. Butova Gymnasium Springfield, Massachusetts

STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Shyheim Hicks: 23 points, 8-of-14 shooting, 4-of-9 from three
Logan Santiago: 20 points, 7-of-10 shooting, 4-of-5 from three, seven rebounds
Jalen Jordan: 10 points, 5-of-7 shooting, eight rebounds
Xion Golding: 10 points, 4-of-5 shooting
Zekiah Owens: Eight points, six rebounds
Goree Venable-Gonzalez: seven points, eight rebounds

Southern Connecticut:
Lyron Bennett: 19 points, 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds, four assists
Isaiah Boissard: 16 points, 7-of-12 shooting, four rebounds
Greg Jones: 15 points, 10 rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The offenses were slow to wake up, with only free throws landing in the first 2:30 of play before senior Logan Santiago drained a three from classmate Goree Venable-Gonzalez to open a 5-2 edge for AIC at 2:46. The Owls scored the next six points before junior Jordan Vidal's layup at 6:17 cut the visiting squad's lead down to 8-7. From there, the teams traded baskets, with a dunk and later a layup by senior Xion Golding bookending the scoring through the 10:24 mark as the Owls led 16-15.
• A five-point run by the Owls was answered by junior Shyheim Hicks, who splashed in a triple from Golding that the senior then followed with a layup on the next possession. The back-and-forth play continued for much of the half, with the Owls lead never growing past five, and at the 18:41 mark, Hicks sank another three to put AIC back ahead, 30-28. Both teams hit one more field goal before the break, which came with the Yellow Jackets up 32-30.
• The teams got off to a hotter offensive start in the second half, with senior Zekiah Owens and Southern Connecticut's Isaiah Boissard trading two shots each, the latter by the guest worth three, in the first 1:11 of play. Owens also had AIC's next field goal, and a Lyron Bennett three for the Owls was countered by a deep shot by redshirt sophomore Bane Terzic on a pass by Vidal; Vidal would also set up a layup for Terzic on AIC's subsequent possession to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 44-39 3:07 into the frame.
• The Owls controlled the next portion of the contest, going on a 10-point run starting with Bennett hitting two free throws at 3:35 and ultimately concluding with C.J. Seaforth completing the rare four-point play as he was fouled on a three that fell into the hoop at 5:16. The bonus shot pushed the guests to a 49-44 edge.
• The Yellow Jackets came back in a big way two possessions later, with Hicks blasting another three and free throws by Venable-Gonzalez to tie the game. Santiago laid in a fast break opportunity at 7:29 to put his team back ahead, and the run opened up from there with another three by Hicks as well as layups by rookie Jalen Jordan and Santiago as well as a jumper and two more free throws by Hicks to push AIC to a 64-49 edge at 11:24 at the conclusion of the 20-0 run.
• The Owls landed a layup, but that only interrupted AIC's offensive rampage; Santiago sent home a three in response to grow the advantage to 16 points. Every time the Owls cut into the deficit, AIC responded with made shots; Santiago hit back-to-back threes to give his team a 75-61 cushion with 4:37 to play, and then swiped the ball out of Bennett's hands on the next Owls possession before ultimately slamming home a return pass from Owens at 15:40.
• The Yellow Jackets put things away down the stretch, and as the advantage ballooned past 20 points with under three minutes to play, head coach Andy Burkholder was able to pull his seniors off the floor to a loud sendoff as the team earned a win by the score of 87-65.

DRIVING 55:

• AIC's 55 points in the second half mark the second time this season that the Yellow Jackets scored over 50 points in a half, with the other coming in a loss at Florida Southern despite a 57-point second frame.
• The team shot 33-for-68 from the field for the second consecutive game; the number of made field goals in those games are tied for the team's best of the year.

HONORING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT:

• It was a banner day in both the literal and figurative sense for the men's basketball team, as the team honored its five seniors Venable-Gonzalez, Santiago, Kenneth Clayton, Owens, and Trevaun Hyatt as well as Payne with two separate pregame ceremonies.
• Payne became the second player in men's basketball history to have his jersey retired, joining three-time NBA Champion Mario Elie '85 on the wall of the Butova Gymnasium.
• The honor was bestowed upon the 2006 AIC Hall of Fame Inductee in recognition of his standing as the program's all-time assists leader with 748 as well as his overall prowess on the court both at Commerce High School and at AIC and his work through the years in the Springfield area.
• Among those present to honor Payne were Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Congressman Richard Neal '72, who represents the First District of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives.

UP NEXT:

• The Yellow Jackets have a week between games, as they next visit the University of New Haven on Saturday, February 15 at 3:30 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.