Comeback effort falls short for Men's Basketball

ALBANY, New York - An early run for The College of Saint Rose helped the home side against the American International College men's basketball team, with a 78-69 Northeast-10 Conference final on Saturday, February 10.

AIC is now 8-15 overall and 6-11 in the NE10.

A three by Tristan Jeffries put the Golden Knights up 7-6 early in the first half and sparked a 21-2 run, ultimately leading 30-12. However, the Yellow Jackets pushed back, beginning with a Tyrae Washington three. Further triples by Jacob Barnett and Justice Ellison shrank the gap back to nine with 1:08 to play, and he hit a layup to close the scoring for the half to send AIC to the locker room down just 37-31.

More deep shots pulled AIC within three, as Carlos Hubb and Buka Peikrishvili knocked in back-to-back triples to make the score 40-37. A few possessions later, Hubb and Jordan sank threes, the latter tying the game 45-45.

The game remained close, with the Golden Knights taking back the lead, Ellison landing a three to cut the gap back, and Saint Rose building up its advantage again. Ultimately, the Golden Knights were able to hang on to win the contest.

Ellison ended the game with 26, a high for the contest. Washington scored 11 as well, and Ellison and Aguibou Balde tied for the team high with eight boards.

AIC will face Southern New Hampshire University for its next contest on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.