Goldey-Beacom recorded a solid offensive performance late in the second half, but was unable to retain the win in close fought 67-63 loss to American International College on Thursday in Springfield, MA.
Goldey-Beacom was down 41-33 at halftime despite shooting 38 percent (11-of-29) from the field and holding American International to just 5-of-16 from 3-point range.
The Yellow Jackets held the lead most of the second half, but the Lightning did not let up. Sophomore Mekhi Collins (Medford, Mass.) split a pair of free throws to tie the game 58-58 with 4:21 left to get GBC within contention, adding a driving layup coming out of a team timeout with 48 seconds left to tie it once more for the Lightning.
But American International had an answer on the end that all but finished things. The Yellow Jackets used timeouts to slow momentum and control the game as they had an offensive answer to halt the Lightning in the final five minutes. Jordan Vidal drained a pair of free-throws in the final second of play to seal the two-possession game.
Sophomore Nazim Derry (Atlantic City, N.J.) led all scorers with a game-high 18 points on 43 percent shooting (6-of-14), shot 50 percent (4-of-8) from 3-point range and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. Freshman Elijah Rantin (Baltimore, MD) added 11 points, shooting 66 percent (4-of-6) from the floor and grabbing six rebounds. Junior Juran Ligonde (Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and eight rebounds. Senior Tyler Jones (Lawrenceville, NJ) had 11 rebounds for the Lightning (5-7). GBC ended shooting 37 percent (22-of-60) from the floor, including 36 percent (11-of-31) in the second half to American International's 31 field goal percentage on (9-of-19).
Vidal scored 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting, Frankyn Batista recorded 13 points and 16 rebounds with Shyheim Hicks getting nine points for the Yellow Jackets (5-6).
Goldey-Beacom resumes plays in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference as it travels to Jersey City, NJ to face Nyack College at 2 PM, following the women's game between the same school at noon.
