Men's Basketball Drops Fourth In A Row After 54-47 Loss To UMass Lowell
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The American International College men's basketball team dropped its fourth straight contest after falling to UMass Lowell, 54-47, Tuesday night at Butova Gymnasium. The River Hawks improved to 7-9 overall and 5-7 in conference play. Sophomore forward Aikeem Vanderhorst (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points.
AIC used an early 9-0 run to take a 13-5 lead at the 13:57 mark of the first half before UMass Lowell went on a 15-2 run of its own to take a 20-15 lead with 7:18 to go in the opening period. The River Hawks took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from senior forward Michael Gore (Wilmington, Mass.) midway through the first half.
UMass Lowell led 30-26 at halftime and used a 6-2 burst over the first 2:15 of the second half to extend its lead to 36-28. The Yellow Jackets pulled back within four at 44-40 on a 3-ball from senior guard Jeff Dosado (Montreal, P.Q.) left in the game, but the River Hawks answered with an 8-2 run over the next 5:49 to seal their third consecutive win victory.
Gore led all scorers with 20 points and recorded game-highs of seven rebounds and three blocked shots for UMass Lowell. Sophomore guard Kevin Carr (Lancaster, Ohio) also scored in double figures for the River Hawks with 10 points and sophomore guard Craig Heatherly (Mishawaka, Ind.) added seven points and six boards.
Dosado and junior forward Colson Senat (Montreal, P.Q.) netted nine points each for AIC in the loss.
The Yellow Jackets shot just 32 percent (8-25) from the floor in the second half and 35.3 percent (18-51) for the game and were just 4 for 18 from 3-point land. UMass Lowell shot 55.6 percent (10-18) from the floor in the second half and finished at 44.7 percent (12-47) from the field in the game.
AIC returns to action Saturday when it hosts Saint Michael's at
3:30 p.m. in a Northeast-10 contest.