Men's basketball hangs on to bottle Lightning
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College men's basketball team held on to earn a 67-63 win over Goldey-Beacom College in the final game of the 2021 calendar year on Thursday, December 30.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: AIC 67, Goldey-Beacom 63
Records: AIC improves to 5-6, while Goldey-Beacom falls to 5-7
Location: Henry A. Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts
KEY STATS:
Goldey-Beacom:
Nazim Derry: 18 points, 4-of-8 from three
Elijah Rantin: 11 points, six rebounds
Juran Ligonde: 10 points, eight rebounds
Tyler Jones: Four points, 11 rebounds
AIC:
Jordan Vidal: 16 points, four assists, 7-of-7 on free throws
Frankyn Batista: 13 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks
Xion Golding: Five assists, seven rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- AIC jumped on the Lightning early, with Jordan Vidal stealing the ball away from Ese Efekodo, leading to a Donovan Miller jumper; two possessions later, Vidal buried a three from a pass by Xion Golding to give the Yellow Jackets an early 5-0 lead. AIC's opening run reached eight, as Covington hit a three from Golding at the 3:52 mark, and though the Lightning finally found the hoop at the other end two possessions later, Covington was fed by Vidal for a layup that put AIC ahead 10-2 five minutes into play.
- The Yellow Jackets continued to add to the lead, as Tyrae Washington scored a field goal, and then gathered the rebound of a Shyheim Hicks miss, giving Hicks another shot at a triple that went through. However, the guests went on an eight-point run of their own, with threes by Nazim Derry and Mattia Morini, cutting back the AIC edge before Vidal responded with an and-one. The teams traded points, but Hicks landed another deep shot just past the midpoint of the period to give AIC a commanding 25-13 lead.
- The Lightning had another run, shrinking AIC's advantage back to five following a jumper by Derry at the 14:02 mark, but Vidal once again stemmed the tied, and then Frankyn Batista followed with four straight points and six of the next eight in the game. The Lightning battled to keep it close, and ultimately a buzzer-beating layup by Juran Ligonde sent the teams to the locker room with AIC's lead at 41-33.
- Ligonde scored the first two points of the second half from the charity stripe, only to see Hicks retort with a three, and then Batista and Covington added field goals to extend AIC's edge back to 13. Just as the half approached the five minute mark, Washington slammed a rebound of a Batista shot home, pushing AIC to a 50-35 margin, the largest of the game.
- Once more, Goldey-Beacom clawed back. A nine-point run saw the gap close to just six, and though Washington stopped that particular charge with a jumper, the guests were determined. A three by Morini at 14:25 made the game a one-possession affair with just 5:25 remaining, with AIC's lead down to just 58-55.
- Within the next minute and a quarter, the lead was completely gone, after Derry hit a jumper and Mekhi Collins sank a free throw. However, Collins missed his second, and with it the chance for the Lightning to take the lead for the first time. That proved costly, as AIC hit the next shot, and while the visitors tied the game at 60-60, 61-61, and 63-63, they never were able to pull ahead of the Yellow Jackets.
- Finally, with 21 seconds to play in regulation, Batista hit the dagger shot, a layup in the paint. The Lightning had a chance to go down the floor to tie the game, but missed on a shot, and on the subsequent inbound pass, Ligonde was called for traveling with five seconds to play. Vidal drew two free throws, which he hit, on the final play of the game to give AIC the 67-63 final.
FREE THROWS KEY:
- Coming into the contest, AIC had shot 67.9 percent on free throws for the season, having made 127 of 187.
- The team landed 15 of 19 chances on the day, a 78.9 percent rate that made a significant difference considering the Lightning went just 13 of 20.
- Vidal led the way for AIC by going a perfect 7-of-7 at the stripe.
NEXT UP:
- AIC returns to Northeast-10 Conference play and rings in the New Year at The College of Saint Rose on Wednesday, January 5 at 5:30 p.m.