Men's Basketball Snaps Three-Game Skid with 79-61 Victory Over Southern Connecticut
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The American International College men's basketball team improved to 2-0 at Butova Gymnasium after cruising to a 79-61 victory over Southern Connecticut. The Yellow Jackets improved to 3-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Owls dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-6 in conference play. Sophomore forward Ryan Leak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed six rebounds for AIC.
Senior guard Jeff Dosado (Montreal, P.Q.) added 14 points and dished out a game-high seven assists and sophomore forward Aikeem Vanderhorst (Bay Shore, N.Y.) netted 12 points with eight boards. Sophomore forward Colson Senat (Montreal, P.Q.) tallied 11 points with eight rebounds for AIC.
Southern Connecticut was led by senior forward Ktrice McNeill (Bronx, N.Y.), who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior forward Devon Sullivan (Jamaica, N.Y.) added 11 points, pulled down a game-high 13 boards and had five steals for the Owls.
AIC stormed out of the gate with a 23-4 run over the first 10 minutes of the game and held a 33-21 advantage heading into the locker room. Southern Connecticut went on a 13-4 run in the closing minutes of the first half to close the gap to 31-21 with 2 minutes left in the period before junior forward Lucius Milliner (Belleville, N.J.) layup with 31 seconds on the clock gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-point lead at halftime.
AIC quickly pushed its lead to 20 points in the second half and led by 22 at 60-38 before an 11-0 Owls' run made it an 11-point game with 5:57 left in the contest. The Yellow Jackets closed the game with a 9-4 spurt for the 79-61 final.
AIC scored 40 points off Southern Connecticut's 24 turnovers, while the Owls managed to get just 17 points of the Yellow Jackets 16 turnovers.
AIC will next travel to Le Moyne Dec. 15 for a 3 p.m.
Northeast-10 contest.