Spirited comeback effort just misses for Men's Basketball at Saint Anselm

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - It was a tale of two halves as the American International College men's basketball team nearly dug out of a 24-point halftime deficit but fell 73-69 at Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday, January 20.

AIC is now 5-12 overall and 3-8 in the NE10.

The Yellow Jackets led early on a Justice Ellison three, but the Hawks landed three consecutive triples to pull ahead. From there, they controlled the game, with eight, six, and 10-point runs that put them up 47-23 at the break.

AIC needed to change its approach in the second half and made some strong adjustments, scoring the first eight points of the frame to cut into the gap, with four different players knocking in field goals. Threes by Jalen Jordan and Kanye Wavezwa shrank the deficit further, and an Aasim Gunther three from Aguibou Balde put AIC within 10 with 7:56 to play.

With momentum on their side, the Yellow Jackets made it a one-possession game with a 10-point run that featured a pair of Ellison deep shots and a Carlos Hubb layup that forced a Hawks timeout with 3:34 to play. AIC pulled within one twice, but the Hawks were able to hang on from there, sealing the win with free throws to take the game 73-69.

Ellison reached the double-double mark with 22 points and 10 boards, as well as four assists. Balde also scored 10 and added six rebounds and four helpers, while Jordan had nine and six, respectively. 

The team returns to action on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Bentley University.