AMCATS' streak ends on Senior Day
PAXTON, Mass. (02.19.11) – Senior Darrin Kelly ((South Dennis, Mass.) drained a go-ahead three with just 26 seconds remaining before fellow senior Derrick Neal (Brighton, Mass.) blocked a shot in the closing moments to lift the Regis College men's basketball team to a thrilling 65-64 victory over Anna Maria College at The Fuller Activities Center on Saturday. The win catapults the Pride into The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, finishing 15-10 overall and 8-5 in the conference. Despite the loss, the AMCATS enter the TCCC Tournament as the top seed, ending the regular season at 18-7, including an 11-2 mark in conference play.
Before the game, Anna Maria honored five of their upperclassmen as part of Senior Day at The Fuller Activities Center. Point guard Junior De La Hoz (Lawrence, Mass.), guard Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, Mass.), center Derek Johnson, Worcester, Mass.) forward Ryan Joyal, and forward Kurtis Bixby (Albion, Maine) were all celebrated for their contributions to the AMC basketball program.
Senior Phil Alibrandi (York, Maine) led the Pride with a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Robert Edwards (Idaho Falls, Idaho) finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Darrin Kelly and Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) completed a list of four Pride in double-figures, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Sophomore Anthony Click paced the AMCATS with a double-double, leading all players in both scoring (21 points) and rebounding (10 boards). Senior Derek Johnson finished with 10 points and seven boards for the AMCATS, while fellow seniors Chris Pinsonault and Junior De La Hoz contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Pride took control of the game in the early going, opening the game on an 8-0 run sparked by a pair of layups from Edwards.
After a couple of baskets by Anna Maria cut the lead to 10-4, Regis responded with nine unanswered points, capped by a three from Chambers to build a 15-point advantage.
The Regis lead swelled to as many as 17 with just over two minutes remaining in the period, when the AMCATS began to claw their way back. The AMCATS finished the half on a 5-0 run, receiving three free throws by Click to go into the locker room trailing by 12.
The Pride dominated points in the paint during the opening half, building a 22-10 advantage, while also outscoring Anna Maria by a 12-2 margin in points off of turnovers.
The two teams traded baskets during the opening minutes of the second half, and with just 10:30 remaining the Pride still held a sizeable 13-point advantage.
However, the AMCATS then erupted for a 12-2 run, including five points from Click and four more from junior Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, R.I.) to cut the RC lead down to just three with a little over seven minutes on the clock.
The AMCATS then tied the game on three from Pinsonault, and took their first lead of the ball game on a layup by Click at the four minute mark.
From there, the two teams traded punches with seven lead changes and two ties over just the final three minutes of action. After Alibrandi gave the Pride a one-point lead on layup inside the final minute, Pinsonault answered at the other end with a clutch trey to put the AMCATS up by two with 38 seconds left. That's when Regis' Darrin Kelly found room at the top of the key and drained what turned out to be the game-winning three.
The AMCATS had one final shot at the end of the game, but Derrick Neal rejected the layup attempt to seal the victory and send the Pride into the postseason.
Both teams will return to action during The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7:00 pm, with Anna Maria hosting Gordon, and Regis hosting Salve Regina.
Photo Courtesy of David Sheridan for AMC Sports Information
