SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team erased a 20-point deficit before yielding the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds to go and missing a winning three-pointer at the buzzer during an 83-81 loss at American International College on Saturday during Northeast-10 Conference play in Butova Gymnasium. The Purple Knights are 4-15 overall and 3-11 in the league, while the Yellow Jackets are 9-13 and 3-11.

Senior Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) recorded 28 points, 12 rebounds and five offensive boards in 38 minutes during his 100th career game for the visitors while shooting 9-of-14 overall and 10-of-11 on free throws. Classmate David Sullivan (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) netted 18 of his 19 points after halftime, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor and 7-for-8 on freebies while adding five boards and two steals.

Senior Zaire Williams (Paterson, N.J./Newark Academy) shot 2-of-4 from three-point range en route to 14 points, three assists and two steals, while sophomore Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep) had 13 points thanks to 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Classmate Derek Cheatom (Buffalo, N.Y./The Park School of Buffalo) turned in seven points, six boards and four assists off the bench.

The contest was the 99th meeting between the teams since 1935, as 20 of the past 21 contests have now been decided by 10 points or less. Saint Michael's shot 21-of-23 on free throws and held a 37-29 rebounding advantage, and it used 69.2 percent shooting and a 13-for-14 performance at the line to key its second-half rally.

Bonds became the 54th Purple Knight ever to appear in 100 games while notching his 15th 20-point outing of the year and his 14th double-double. He entered the day tied for second in Division II in double-doubles. Bonds became the 17th player in school annals to make 300 free throws, tying Gus Gabriel '88 for 15th with 304. Holmes is now the 23rd Purple Knight with 100 career three-pointers, ending the day with exactly 100, and Williams moved his career assist figure to 200. Despite averaging just 9.0 minutes per contest as a reserve during his two underclass seasons, Williams is the 29th player in school annals with 200 helpers.

All five AIC starters scored in double figures, accounting for 79 of the team's 83 points. Sophomore Jayvon Pitts-Young had 22 points, junior Tahlib Swan notched 15 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Bruce Spruell was one of three 14-point scorers and added seven assists and five steals.

The teams played through three ties and three lead changes while neither team led by more than three points during the opening nearly 10 minutes of the game before the Yellow Jackets scored 16 straight points en route to grabbing a 32-13 lead on Swan's putback with 4:57 left in the first half. The Purple Knights countered with an 8-1 run, with Bonds scoring five points and Cheatom draining a three, but AIC was back up 46-29 by halftime and led by 20 on senior Rasheed Howard's three-point play 13 seconds into the second half.

Saint Michael's rattled off the next 10 points in a 2:14 span behind scoring from four different players, but Swan's triple put the Yellow Jackets ahead 56-43 with 14:55 to go. Another 10-0 Purple Knight run ensued, as Bonds turned in two three-point plays. AIC twice went back up by seven, but a 10-3 stretch from Saint Michael's tied the game at 68 when Holmes buried a triple at 5:56. The hosts reestablished a four-point edge on four occasions, including at 81-77 with 1:59 to go.

Sullivan buried two freebies 16 seconds later before the teams combined for three turnovers in 35 seconds, with Williams coming up with a steal at 37 seconds before feeding Sullivan for the tying lay-in four seconds later. On the next possession, senior Juwan Moody hit a go-ahead jumper at 10 seconds, and the Purple Knights had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a three-pointer was off the mark.

Saint Michael's takes on each of its NE10 Northeast Division counterparts once more prior to the end of the regular season, beginning on Wednesday when it hosts regionally-ranked Merrimack College at 7:30 p.m. The Warriors are sixth in the latest D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.