Springfield, Mass. – Fourth-year junior forward Luke Sutherland (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee/Siena/Bryant) scored 18 points to lead the Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a 75-66 victory over American International College on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Butova Gymnasium.

"It was a hard fought game and I give our guys all the credit," said head coach Nate Champion '19. "Sticking with the game plan, coming up with key defensive stops when we needed them and taking care of the ball and executing on the offensive end. Winning on the road is never easy and we got it done today."

Sutherland led Le Moyne's 47-point second half output with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range, while adding a team-best six rebounds. Senior forward Xavier Wilson (Spring Valley, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac/The Hotchkiss School/Central Connecticut State) recorded 15 points and first-year graduate student guard Nate McClure (Houston, Texas/Concordia Lutheran/Texas State/State Fair C.C./IUPUI) tallied 10, while each pulled down four rebounds.

Justice Ellison led the Yellow Jackets in the loss with 18 points, including 13 in the second half, and five rebounds. Jack Hall finished with 17 points, including 12 in the first half. Kanye Wavezwa drained four three-pointers off the bench for 12 points, while Jalen Jordan netted 10 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 7-2 lead through the opening three and one-half minutes. Ellison scored the first five points and then Hall hit a jumper.

After the Dolphins answered with five straight points to knot the score at seven with 14:29 left, the teams traded points over the next three minutes before Jordan hit a jumper and Hall buried a three-pointer for another five-point edge for the Yellow Jackets.

Le Moyne responded with 11 of the next 13 points to take a 23-19 lead with 4:44 until halftime. Redshirt sophomore guard Jack Poirier (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) started the run with a pull-up jumper in transition, Wilson knocked down a pair of jumpers, McClure hit a jump shot for the lead and then Poirier buried a three-pointer from the left wing off an offensive rebound and kick out by McClure.

Hall nailed a pair of three-pointers around a free throw by McClure to give the lead back to AIC, but Wilson and fourth-year junior guard Jeremiah Washington (Chicago, Ill./Bogan/Ferris State) followed with baskets in the paint for a 28-25 advantage with 1:46 left.

Wavezwa connected on a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to even the score at 28 going into the intermission.

Following a basket by Ellison to start the scoring in the second half, the Dolphins rattled off 10 straight points to take the lead for good. Redshirt sophomore guard Kevin Constant (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic/Tilton School) had a put-back lay-up, Sutherland buried a three-pointer and made a lay-up in transition and then Constant had a fast-break jumper and free throw on separate possessions for a 38-30 lead with 17:10 to play.

The teams then went back and forth over the next four and one-half minutes as Le Moyne's lead bounced between five and nine points and settled at 51-44 with 12:45 to play.

Wavezwa then hit a pair of three-pointers 2:18 apart to get the Yellow Jackets within 51-50.

After McClure and Buka Peikrishvili traded three-pointers, McClure made a lay-up and Sutherland followed with a jumper in the paint and a lay-up to put the Dolphins up 60-53 with 7:32 to play.

After Le Moyne's lead was either five or seven over the next two minutes before Wilson hit a jumper for a 67-58 lead with 5:07 to play.

After calling a timeout, American International scored six straight points to close within one possession. Ellison had the first four points in a span of 38 seconds and then Jordan scored almost two minutes later to make it 67-64 with 2:33 to go.

Le Moyne countered with a 6-0 run of its own to put the game away. Wilson made two free throws, sophomore guard Zy'Ever Wingfield (Richmond, Va./Henrico/Fork Union Military Academy) knocked down a jumper in the paint and then junior guard Darrick Jones Jr. (Richmond, Va./Oak Hill Academy/Towson) finished off an alley-oop from first-year graduate student guard Mike DePersia (Cherry Hill, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial/IUPUI) with 43 seconds left for a 73-64 advantage.

Ellison and DePersia each made two free throws in the final 33 seconds to close out the game's scoring.

Le Moyne (14-12, 11-7 NE10), which clinched a top-seven seed in the upcoming NE10 Championship, wraps up its regular season road slate on Wednesday at Saint Michael's College at 6:00 p.m.