MEN’S BASKETBALL HOLDS ON TO DEFEAT NEW HAVEN 67-65
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 2, 2006)
– John Huggins (Philadelphia, Pa.) totaled
20 points and Jenar Harrison (Queens, N.Y.)
notched his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10
rebounds as American International College withstood a late rally
to post a 67-65 win over the University of New Haven in men’s
basketball Monday afternoon. It marked the third straight win
for the Yellow Jackets as they improved to 7-4 overall, while the
Chargers fall to 3-8.
Huggins finished 6-6 at the free throw line and also registered four steals. Harrison was 6-10 from the floor and added five steals and four blocked shots on the afternoon. Jeff Dosado (Montreal, Quebec) was the other AIC player in double figures in scoring as he recorded 10 points. Dexter Gregory (Paterson, N.J.) grabbed 10 rebounds. John Sullivan (Bridgeport, Conn.) was 8-14 from the floor and totaled 22 points and 21 rebounds for New Haven, while Tetrick Stonar (Hartford, Conn.) amassed 15 points.
AIC trailed 31-26 1:43 into the second half when it reeled off 15 unanswered points to take a 41-31 lead at the 13:10 mark on a layup by Alonzo Brown (New York, N.Y.). A conventional three-point play by Sullivan at the 10:45 mark made it 41-36, but AIC would gradually pull away, using a 20-8 run to open up a 61-44 lead with 4:41 left on a three-point play by Harrison.
The Chargers would score 13 of the game’s next 14 points and a layup by Stonar with 1:41 remaining made it a 62-57 game. American International was able to sew up the game at the free throw line, making 7-of-8 over the final 1:06 to seal the victory. The hosts led by five with eight seconds left following a pair at the line from Huggins, but Stonar would nail a three as the buzzer sounded to account for the final score.
New Haven opened up a 16-4 lead with 9:10 to play in the first half following a Bryan Moriarty (Suffield, Conn.) basket, but AIC responded with a 14-5 run and a basket by Vernon Dupree (Wilmington, Del.) with 4:05 to go made it 21-18. The Chargers ran off six unanswered points and took a 27-18 lead on a Sullivan layup with 2:27 to go before intermission. The Yellow Jackets scored the final five points of the half and Huggins three with moments remaining in the half made it 27-23 at the break.
AIC shot 14-26 (53.8%) from the floor in the
second half after shooting just 28.6% in the opening 20
minutes. The Yellow Jackets forced 22 New Haven turnovers as
opposed to their 14, and made 11 of their 16 steals in the second
half. The Chargers owned a 39-30 rebounding
advantage.
American International returns to action
Thursday evening when it travels to No. 24 Stonehill for a 7:30
contest.