Springfield, Mass. (January 24) – At Butova Gym on Saturday afternoon, the Assumption College men's basketball team fell to American International by an 85-73 final in Northeast-10 Conference action.

The game was even over the opening eight minutes as the Hounds led by a 10-8 margin on a jumper from junior Karl Ziegler (Annandale, Va./Annandale) with 12:33 left. AIC answered with a decisive 17-4 run though, capped by an Oscar Assie putback at the 6:31, to push the lead into double figures at 25-14. The Yellow Jackets held the lead for the remainder of the half, including a 42-22 edge with 2:02 remaining, before taking an eventual 42-24 advantage into the break.

Ziegler paced the Hounds in the first half with eight points, along with 13 points from Cameron Dobbs and 11 by Bobby Harris.

In the second half, the Hounds quickly cut into the lead and made it a 10-point game on a reverse layup off a putback by sophomore Kamali Bey (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy). The Hounds eventually cut the lead to six on a three by junior Julian Aiken (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) at 64-58 and stayed within striking distance, including at 73-66 after two free Murray free throws with just 3:06 remaining. A basket by Harris with 1:14 left put the Yellow Jackets back up by double figures at 81-70, en route to the eventual 85-73 win for the hosts.

Ziegler led the Hounds with 21 points for his fourth 20+ point game of the season, while Bey added 17 and Murray 13. Junior Terrance Bobb-Jones (Wilmington, Del./Delcastle-Voc Tech) nearly posted a double-double as he finished with eight points, nine rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Dobb led the Yellow Jackets with 29, while Harris finished with 21. The Hounds outscored the Jackets 18-15 at the free throw line and held a 30-27 rebounding advantage.

With the loss, Assumption drops to 7-10 overall and 4-8 in Northeast-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets have won four straight to improve to 14-3 overall and 9-2 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, January 27th as the Hounds travel to Pace University for a 7:30 p.m. start in Pleasantville, N.Y.

For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.