MANCHESTER, N.H. – Cameron Dobbs went 9-11 from three-point land and totaled 38 points to lead American International College, the No. 2 seed in the Southwest Division, to an 82-79 win over top Northeast seed Southern New Hampshire University in the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship Wednesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Yellow Jackets, the No. 2 team in the East Region, improve to 22-6 and advance to Saturday's title game, where they will face Saint Anselm College.  The Penmen (21-7), who entered the game as the top-ranked team in the region, must now wait until Sunday night for word of a probable NCAA at-large berth.

Dobbs tallied 28 of his 38 points in the first half as he went 8-9 behind the arc and 10-13 from the floor.  Bobby Harris notched 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Marcus Porter added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Senior Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) led Southern New Hampshire with a season-high 20 points, going 6-10 from the floor and 6-8 at the free throw line.  BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) was 3-6 behind the arc and totaled 17 points, while Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) finished with 14 points.  Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) tallied 13 points on the evening.

In a game that saw 12 ties and nine lead changes, the Penmen tied the game for the final time with 2:16 to go when Dobrovic was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to tie the game 75-75.  Dobbs would convert a layup with 1:57 left to give AIC the lead for good, as Dobrovic was fouled on the next SNHU possession, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.  Dobbs was fouled and made a pair with 1:27 left to make it a 79-75 game.

Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) was fouled going to the basket with 1:14 left and made a pair to pull the Penmen back within two.  The SNHU defense buckled down and forced a shot clock violation with 38 seconds to go, but Gilligan would miss a quick layup, forcing the hosts to foul.  Harris made two at the line, but a Bonsignore basket with 10 seconds left made it 81-79.

Harris was fouled again and went 1-of-2 at the line, leaving the door ajar for Southern New Hampshire.  Gilligan got a look at a three as time expired from the left corner, but his attempt was off the mark.

SNHU was down 45-43 at halftime but took its first lead of the second half with 14:55 left on a Gilligan basket.  The Penmen held a 55-53 lead with 13:12 remaining before AIC scored the next four points to go up 57-55.  It would be the last Penmen lead of the night, but the hosts did forge five ties.  Neither team led by more than four points over the final 20 minutes.

The Penmen took the largest lead by either team, 34-24, with 7:39 to go in the first half following a Sanders three, and held a 39-30 lead with 5:15 left when the Yellow Jackets put together a 12-2 run capped by a Dobbs basket with 28 seconds to go that gave AIC a 42-41 lead.  Sanders would give the Penmen a 43-42 lead with four seconds left, but Harris hit a bomb from just inside half court to give the guests a 45-43 lead at intermission.

AIC shot 46.8% for the game and knocked down 10 of its 18 three-point attempts while going to the free throw line 19 times (16 after halftime) and making 14.  Southern New Hampshire shot 54.2% over the final 20 minutes and 48.3% for the game while making 16-of-20 at the charity stripe, but went just 7-21 behind the arc.  The Yellow Jackets held a 38-29 rebounding advantage, including a 15-10 edge on the offensive glass.

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