Franklin Pierce Drops Heartbreaker to AIC, 72-69
Sinvilcin lifts Yellow Jackets to victory in closing seconds
RINDGE, N.H. (January 22, 2004) - American International College scored the final six points of the contest and posted a 72-69 victory over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse tonight.
Senior guard Shaaron Sinvilcin (Port Chester, N.Y./Central Connecticut State) played a role in American International's last eight points over the last 2:18 of regulation, which turned a four-point deficit (68-64) into a three-point victory. Sinvilcin finished with a game-high 18 points on six-of-11 shooting from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range, and 4-4 at the line to go with six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Junior Daniel Sandell (London, England) came off the bench and totaled a career-high 16 points as he hit 6-8 shots from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the arc. Sophomore John Huggins (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) rounded out the Yellow Jackets double-digit scorers with 15 points to go with six boards.
Senior preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 18 points, aided by a season-best 12-12 effort at the free-throw line, four rebounds and three assists. Classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) added 11 points and three steals, while freshman Darryl Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) finished with ten points (eight first half), a team-high five rebounds and four steals. Freshmen Marques Norris (Jamaica Plain, N.Y./Benson (Ore.)) and Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) each chipped in nine points.
Franklin Pierce trailed by as much as 14 points (21-7) in the first half, but worked its way back into the ball game by scoring the final five points in the last 57-seconds of the stanza to close within six points (32-26) at the break. Hunt canned two free-throws and Senaldi hit a jumper with a second to play during the closing run.
The Ravens opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the night (36-34) 4:09 into the stanza. Rodgerson totaled five points during that stretch, including a rally-capping three-pointer.
Franklin Pierce increased its advantage to seven points (52-45) with 9:46 to play after a Rodgerson jumper, but AIC answered with an 11-4 run to knot the score at 56-56 with 6:47 left on the clock. Sandell sparked the run with a pair of three's, while Huggins netted five points during the stretch.
The Ravens regained a four-point edge (68-64) with 3:15 to play, but scored just one point the rest of the way on a Norris free throw. Sinvilcin sparked the Yellow Jackets over the closing moments as he netted four points and dished two assists over the final 2:27. He scored a driving lay-up with 40-seconds on the clock to put the Yellow Jackets ahead (70-69) and canned a pair of free throws with seven-seconds to play.
Franklin Pierce had a shot to tie, but a Hunt three was off the mark with two-seconds to play.
Franklin Pierce (7-10, 4-9 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts No. 16 UMass Lowell at 3:30 p.m. American International (7-11, 4-9 NE-10) visits Saint Anselm College Saturday at 3:30 p.m.