SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – Aleksy Walczak nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key in the final second of regulation to give the American International College men's basketball team a 75-72 win over Caldwell University on Sunday, November 30.
AIC is now 1-5 on the season.
The Cougars had tied the game at 72-72 on the previous possession, overcoming a 10-point deficit in a 2:52 span. AIC worked its way down the court, and Walczak drove in with seven seconds left, kicking the ball out to the left side for Coleman Hopson.
Hopson had an open look, but thought better of shooting, and instead returned the ball to Walczak, who had cut back to the three-point arc and was wide open. He fired, and the ball arced over the other players on the court and smoothly through the mesh.
Review gave the Cougars 0.7 seconds to work with to try to find a miracle comeback, but it was not to be; the Melvin Evans inbound pass was picked off by Aguibou Balde to put away the victory.
"Obviously a big shot from Aleksy; he stayed poised and hit a big three for us," Balde said.
The early portion of the game had not gone AIC's way; although the Yellow Jackets had overcome an early deficit and took a 13-12 lead just shy of the eight-minute mark on an Abdullah Mahamed putback, AIC was not able to build a lead, and after some back-and-forth, the Cougars build to a nine-point edge with 2:39 to play.
Blair Thomas did knock in a three and Hopson hit a jumper to bring AIC within five, but the Yellow Jackets could get no closer, as Todd Rochelle raced down the court to block a last-second Amadou Diallo breakaway layup after Diallo poached the ball from him. At the halftime stoppage, AIC trailed 39-34.
Though the Cougars scored first to start the second half, much of the frame belonged to AIC. Threes, by Tony Felder and Chase Nelson, cut down the deficit, and Felder made a layup to put AIC back on top, 48-47, with 14:41 to play.
The back-and-forth of the middle of the first half repeated for several minutes, but Mahamed took over in a stretch of three straight made field goals to build AIC a 58-52 lead just as the half reached the midpoint. Pierce Prendergast then put down a three, and AIC's lead was nine, 61-52.
The Yellow Jackets continued to control the play, and Hopson hit a layup to give AIC a 71-61 edge, the largest lead either team had on the afternoon, with 3:05 to play. However, Caldwell refused to roll over, and went on an 11-1 run, with only a Walczak free throw in the stretch until Jaiden Williams tied the game and set up the final AIC possession.
Balde did tremendous work, with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting, six rebounds, and three assists to just two turnovers in a game-high 36 minutes of play. Prendergast and Felder each dropped 11, with four and five assists respectively, and Mahamad scored 10.
As a team, AIC made two more field goals than Caldwell despite taking six fewer, as the Yellow Jackets shot 51.7 percent from the floor. AIC's bench also contributed 22 points.
The Yellow Jackets now turn their attention to Northeast 10 Conference play as they head to Garden City, New York for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday, December 3 at Adelphi University as part of a doubleheader with the women's team, which will play the Panthers at 5:30 p.m.
