MEN'S HOOP SURGES PAST SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 75-69
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 13, 2007) - Magen
McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa.) registered his ninth
double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds as
American International College placed four players in double
figures en route to a 75-69 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory
over Southern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at
Butova Gymnasium. The win, the second straight for the Yellow
Jackets, puts them at 7-8 overall and 6-5 in the NE-10, while the
Owls are 3-13 and 2-11 in the league.
McNeil finished 8-13 from the floor and also finished with five steals. Vernon Dupree (Wilmington, Del.) was 6-10 from the field and finished with 17 points, while Jeff Dosado (Montreal, Quebec) notched 12 points and six assists. Lucius Millinder (Belleville, N.J.) added 11 points and six boards.
Tyrese Sullivan led Southern with 21 points, while Danny Miller added 16 points for the Owls. Kevin Diffley (14) and Devon Sullivan (10) also finished in double figures for the guests.
Southern, which led by as many as nine points in the opening 20 minutes, took a 52-47 lead with just over 13 minutes to play on a layup by Diffley. AIC would go on a 13-3 run and a basket by Millinder with 8:39 left made it 60-55 in favor of the Yellow Jackets. McNeil gave AIC the lead for good at the 10:02 mark on a steal and a dunk, one of his four dunks on the afternoon. Derrick Corbett would make it 60-57 on Southern's next possession, but AIC would go on to open up a 64-57 lead with 5:45 left on a pair of free throws by Jenar Harrison (Queens, N.Y.).
The Owls would remain in striking distance and cut the lead to three, 72-69, with 30 seconds left on a Tyrese Sullivan trifecta. However, AIC would make three of its final four free throws to secure the win, part of a larger 7-8 effort at the stripe over the final moments.
AIC led 12-6 early on a Dupree basket but the guests used a 15-6 run capped by a pair of Tyrese Sullivan free throws at the 5:58 mark to make it 35-26 in favor of the Owls. The hosts would chip away at the lead and trailed by just two, 44-42, at the break following a conventional three-point play by McNeil with seven seconds left before intermission.
American International shot 52% for the game, including 57.1% (16-28) over the first 20 minutes. The Owls, who were outrebounded 33-26, shot 63% in the first half, but connected on just 10 of its 30 attempts in the second half. AIC also made good on 18 of its 26 free throw opportunities, while SCSU made just 13 trips to the line, converting 10.
AIC hosts Stonehill Wednesday night in a 7:30
tilt at Butova Gymnasium. The Skyhawks reached the semifinals
of the NCAA Division II Tournament last season.