The battle for the 'Milk Jug' was witnessed before a loud and crazy sellout crowd of 1,800 in the Merillat Sport & Fitness Center on Monday evening.
AC (10-7 overall, 3-2 MIAA) trailed by as many as 11 points on two separate occasions in the second half and 45-38 at the break.
SHU's Andre' Johnson nailed a 55-foot three pointer as time expired at half, but was ruled by the game officials that the shot came after the buzzer.
AC battled back the whole night and reclaimed their first lead in the second half with with 1:41 remaining on Jeff Nokovich's lay-up that beat the shot clock and gave AC a 74-72 lead.
Nokovich would add another lay-up with :43 remaining after a SHU free throw, giving AC a 76-73 lead. SHU would have three '3' point attempts on their next possession, but Adam Novak finally grabbed the rebound and handed off to Nokovich, who was fouled.
Nokovich gave AC fans a little Deja Vu' from last year's contest, as he missed the first attempt and made the second free throw attempt to give AC a four point lead (77-73) with :05 remaining.
SHU's James Bradley would make a three pointer with :02 remaining to cut AC's lead to one, 77-76.
After a SHU timeout, AC would inbound the ball safely and run out the clock, as the capacity crowd stormed the court.
AC won the 2002-03 battle at SHU in similar fashion, as Nokovich made one of two free throws with :05 remaining. SHU would hit a three at the buzzer, but AC won 76-75 and claimed the 'Milk Jug' for the first time in 16 seasons.
With the win, the Bulldogs beat the Saints back-to-back for the first time since the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons.
Down the stretch, AC benefited from poor free throw shooting from the Saints. The Saints went 5-for-14 in the last 8:25 of the contest from the stripe.
Overall, AC shot 31-for-56 (55%), while SHU went 24-for-54 (44%) from the floor. AC nailed 7-of-14 three pointers (50%), while the Saints went 5-of-16 (21%). AC was 8-of-14 from the stripe (66%) and the Saints went 23-for-35 (66%). The Bulldogs outrebounded SHU 33-24 and forced 19 turnovers, while the Bulldogs committed 23 turnovers.
AC was led by numerous players, but none bigger then Nokovich. Down the stretch, Nokovich (left) took over the game and dominated the floor. The gritty, hard nosed point guard scored a career high 23 points, dished out 10 assists, grabbed five rebounds and added one steal.
Novak added great hustle plays all night long and finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, for his sixth double-double of the season. Brian Schaefer played a solid floor game with 13 points, seven assists and two steals. Mark Bohlen came off the bench and added 11 points and four boards, while All-American football player, Mike Lewis tossed in 10 points and held SHU's top player Doug Gray to 16 points on the evening. Gray scored seven points in the first four minutes of the game for SHU, but was held to nine points over the last 36 minutes of the contest.
AC will get back to MIAA action on Wednesday when they host Olivet College at the MSFC for a 7:30 pm contest.