Worcester, Mass. (January 25) -- On Saturday afternoon at Laska Gym, the Assumption College men's basketball team dropped a 72-64 final to visiting American International College in Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional action. The game is just the fifth home game of the season for Assumption.

Assumption jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead after three minutes, capped by a pair of free throws from freshman guard Reilly Reid (Mississauga, Ontario/Lorne Park Secondary School). AIC answered to pull within one at 10-9 and eventually took its first lead of the game at 12-11 on a three-pointer from senior Jason Perrier at the 12:12 mark.

The two teams traded the lead six times over the next seven minutes and the Yellow Jackets continued to hold just a two-point lead at 23-21 after a free throw from Marcus Porter. American International went on a quick 5-0 run, capped by a Spencer Braithwaite jumper at the 2:58 mark, to jump to a seven-point lead before the Hounds closed the gap. A three from freshman guard Marcus Murray (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) and five points from sophomore Chris Fitzgerald (Somerset, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon), including a three with 50 seconds left, made it a 31-30 game heading to the halftime break.

Assumption shot 34.5 percent from the field in the opening half, but used four three-pointers to pull back within one late in the period. Fitzgerald led the Hounds with eight points in the half, while sophomore Tim Kasper (Cologne, Germany/Gymnasium Schloss Hagerhof) had a team-best five rebounds. Overall, Assumption held a convincing 23-9 advantage on the boards in the opening period, including a 10-0 edge on the offensive glass. AIC shot 47.8 percent from the field in the first half, including six three-pointers from four combined players.

In the second half, quick layups from Murray and Reid put the Hounds up 34-31 before a Mark Ellis free throw and a Bobby Harris three-pointer put the visitors back up 35-34 with 17:15 left. Over the next 10 minutes, the teams traded the lead back and forth five times before a free throw from Porter tied the game for the seventh time at 50-50 with 7:35 remaining. Over the next 2:18, the Yellow Jackets went on a decisive 9-2 run, capped by a Perrier three, to seize control at 59-52. American International led by at least five and by as many as nine over the final 5:17 of the game, en route to the eight-point victory. The win snapped a four-game Assumption winning streak in the series dating back over the last two seasons.

Murray led the Hounds with 17 points, three assists and two steals and has now scored in double figures in nine games as a rookie. Fitzgerald and freshman guard Jack Sullivan (Stony Point, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) both chipped in 12 points each off the bench as the Hounds shot 40.7 percent from the field for the game. Kasper finished as the team leader in rebounds with eight as the Hounds held a 36-22 edge on the glass, including 12-2 on the offensive end.

Harris paced the Yellow Jacket offense with a game-high 20 points, including four three-pointers, four assists and three steals. Perrier added 14 points off the bench for the visitors as well, including four three-pointers. The Yellow Jackets shot 50 percent from the field (22-for-44), 50 percent from three-point land (11-for-22) and 77.3 percent from the free throw line (17-for-22).

Both teams made the same number of overall field goals in the game (22), with the difference coming at the three-point line as AIC held an 11-6 advantage in three-pointers made for the game.

With the loss, Assumption falls to 4-13 overall and 2-10 in Northeast-10 play, while American International improves to 9-10 overall, 6-6 in the Northeast-10 and 5-5 on the road this season.

Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, January 28 as the Hounds host Pace University for a 7:30 p.m. start at Laska Gym.

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