ALBANY – American International College had four players reach double-figures and used a 25-8 run midway through the second half to put away The College of Saint Rose men’s basketball team 80-64 in a Northeast-10 Conference game at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium this afternoon. The win also allowed the Yellow Jackets (2-1/2-0 NE-10) to remain unbeaten in league play.
Sophomore forward
Brian Hanuschak notched his first career “double-double” for the Golden Knights (1-2/0-2 NE-10) behind 19 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, freshman guard
Andre Pope filled up the box score with 17 points, four assists and three steals and sophomore forward
Sheldon Griffin tossed in a career-high 12 points in 19 minutes of action.
Sophomore guard Isiah Wallace led a balanced attack for the Yellow Jackets with a game-high 25 points. Junior forward Allen Aragbaye contributed 19 points, while sophomore guard Adrian Hynes-Guery and junior forward Anthony Thomas added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Both clubs traded hoops early on as the lead changed hands five times throughout the opening five minutes. A pair of free throws by senior forward Aikeem Vanderhorst broke a 10-10 tie and gave American International the lead for good at the 14:52 mark. The Yellow Jackets then managed to give themselves some breathing room after a jumper by Aragbaye ignited a 9-0 outburst, thus making it a 31-19 ballgame with 6:32 left until intermission.
However, Saint Rose clawed its way back when Hanuschak silenced the jaunt with a conventional three-point play. A Hanuschak dunk and back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore guard
Shea Bromirski and Pope cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to four, 34-30, with 1:21 left. Wallace then scored five straight points, including a trey at the buzzer to give American International a 39-30 edge at the break.
The Yellow Jackets led by double-digits for the first four minutes of the second stanza until Hanuschak laid the ball in to again make it a four-point game, 47-43, with 14:47 on the clock. Senior guard Mike Troll buried a 3-pointer at the other end, which sent American International on a decisive 25-8 run that yielded a 21-point lead, 72-51, with 5:44 to go.
Saint Rose was unable to get closer than 13 the rest of the way after being plagued by 25.0 percent (5-for-20) shooting from the arc and a 40-24 margin on the class. The Yellow Jackets wound up shooting 56.0 percent (14-for-25) from the floor throughout the second half to dash any hopes of a Golden Knights comeback.
Both squads are set to return to the hardwood Tuesday night with a pair of NE-10 games on tap. Saint Rose will head to Adelphi University for a 7:30 pm tip-off in Garden City, NY. Meanwhile, American International travels to Le Moyne College for a 7:30 pm start in Syracuse.
Box Score