MEN'S BASKETBALL STYMIES SAINT ROSE 69-62
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 17, 2007) -
Magen McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
Aikeem Vanderhorst (Bay Shore, N.Y.) each
registered double-doubles to lead American International College to
a 69-62 win over Saint Rose Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10
men's basketball at Butova Gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets
improve to 15-11 overall and 13-8 in the NE-10, while the Golden
Knights, who entered the day in second place in the league, fall to
19-8 and 15-7 in the league as their regular season is complete.
The win was the 300th career victory for eighth-year head coach Art Luptowski, who has now compiled a 300-214 career record in 18 years as a collegiate head coach.
AIC remains in a fourth-place tie entering Tuesday night's regular-season finale at Pace (7:30 pm). The Yellow Jackets are tied with Bryant, a 78-72 winner over Southern Connecticut Saturday, and sit a game behind third-place Pace, who lost to Saint Michael's 91-72 Saturday.
McNeil finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while Vanderhorst totaled 15 of his 19 points in the first half and grabbed 10 boards. Jenar Harrison (Queens, N.Y.) also finished with 10 points and six rebounds for AIC. Steve Dagostino and Shanty Robinson paced Saint Rose with 18 points apiece.
Saint Rose led for much of the first half, but never by more than four points in a first frame that saw seven ties and five lead changes. The Yellow Jackets would close out the first half on a 11-0 run to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room as AIC kept the Golden Knights off the scoreboard for the final 3:58. The run was capped by a basket by Tal Cohen (Hadera, Israel) as time expired in the first half.
AIC would not trail over the final 20 minutes and extended its lead to 11 twice in the second half. The Golden Knights would cut the lead to three, 61-58, with just over four minutes left on a basket by Will Monica, but back-to-back layups by McNeil and Harrison would push the advantage to seven, 65-58, with 2:50 to play. The Yellow Jackets would seal the win by going 4-4 at the charity stripe over the final 37 seconds.
AIC shot 51% for the game, including 53.6%
(15-28) in the first half. The Yellow Jackets owned a 38-24
rebounding advantage and sank 15 of their 18 free throw attempts,
as opposed to Saint Rose's 6-12 showing at the line. AIC also
held a 15-4 edge in second chance points.