Box Score

Springfield, MA – After a three week winter break, the men's basketball team dove back into action earlier this afternoon with a Northeast-10 contest against the American International College Yellow Jackets. Despite trailing by seven points at the half, the Panthers made a furious charge in the second to come away with the 61-56 victory. With the win, the Brown and Gold move to 5-8, 2-5 NE-10 while AIC slips to 5-6, 2-5 NE-10.
 
Sophomore Duane Morgan led the Panthers with 15 points on 5-8 shooting from the field to go along with his eight boards, two blocks and two steals. Bradley Simpson pulled down a game high 11 rebounds and also added 12 points while teammate John Calarco chipped in with 12 points and four assists.
 
AIC's Ricky Hudson poured in a game high 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Meanwhile, teammate David Campbell did his part with 10 points on 4-9 shooting from the floor. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 14 times and shot just 38 percent from the field.
 
The first half featured four lead changes with the Panther's holding the early advantage on a Calarco triple at the 15:24 mark. In a span of 4:32, AIC surged ahead and turned a three point deficit into a 10 point cushion, courtesy of a 14-1 run on the strength of sinking five of seven attempts from the field and a balanced scoring effort from four different players.
 
However, Adelphi responded with an 11-0 run of their own. Morgan sparked it with two made free throws and then followed it up with a layup on the next possession. The sophomore center then picked up his first steal and hammered home a dunk to make it a two point game. A three ball from Travis Jordan capped the run and allowed the Panthers to retake the lead at 22-21 with 2:37 left in the first. AIC ended the opening act with seven unanswered points to put the score at 29-22 in their favor.
 
It was a back and forth affair in the final 20 minutes with each side swapping the lead for the first 12 minutes. At the 8:15 mark, Morgan was successful on a converted three point play to give the Panthers the lead in which they would hold on to through the end of the game.
 
Over the next 5:04, the one point cushion would blossom into a seven point advantage with just 3:11 left to play. The hosts would crawl back to within three in the final minutes, but two free throws from Chris Ranglin put the game on ice as the Panthers came away with the victory.
 
The men's basketball squad is back in action on Wednesday, January 9 when they host the Merrimack Warriors at 7:30 pm. Follow the action with live stats or tune in to www.AUPanthers.tv for a live webcast.