Pins reaches 1,000 as AMC rolls off third straight win
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Anna Maria College men's basketball team shot 50% from the floor and had four players finish in double figures during an 81-72 victory over Wheelock College at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court on Thursday night. The win was especially memorable for AMC senior Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, Mass.) who scored 14 points en route to becoming just the 17th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career points milestone. The victory was the third in a row for the AMCATS who now even their overall record to 6-6, while the now 4-7 Wildcats suffered their second straight loss. The AMCATS piled up 21 helpers on 29 hoops, as they shot 29-of-58 overall from the floor, including 11-for-25 from three-point range. Sophomore Anthony Click (Springfield, MA/SABIS International Charter School) led AMC with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while junior Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) collected a double-double of his own with 15 points and 11 boards. Pinsonault had a strong all-around game totaling 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while senior Junior De La Hoz (Lawrence, MA/Central Catholic) continued his recent hot shooting by adding 14 points and six helpers. De La Hoz and Pinsonault each hit four threes, as Pinsonault entered the game needing two points to reach his milestone. Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) netted a game-high 22 points for Wheelock, which played without junior leading scorer Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn). Main shot 7-for-8 on free-throw tries while added five rebounds and three assists and now needs 26 points to become the second Wildcat with 1,000 in a career. Junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) tallied 10 points and five boards, sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) turned in eight points and six rebounds, and junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) had seven points. Off the bench, senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) and sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) tallied eight and six points, respectively. Each knocked down a pair of three-pointers. The opening stanza saw the teams play through seven lead changes and six ties, as neither team led by more than four points until 4:35 remained. Main's opening three was met by a Pinsonault trey at 19:02, which pushed him past 1,000 points, and the AMCATS eventually twice led by four prior to Higgins' three-pointer putting the hosts back ahead, 15-14, at 14:07. Anna Maria again twice crept back in front by four before a hoop from Wildcat sophomore Adam Russo (Arlington, MA/Arlington) capped a 6-0 run that made it 29-27 at 6:28 in favor of the hosts. From there, the AMCATS scored nine straight points in a 1:30 span, eventually leading by as many as nine before holding a 44-38 edge at the half. Click and Peterson combined to score all of the points during a period-opening 7-0 run for Anna Maria, as a Peterson lay-up at 17:55 produced a 51-38 advantage. The AMCATS' lead inflated to as many as 18 points, at 73-55 with 7:17 to go, before the Wildcats staged a comeback to within eight points. Five different players scored during a 12-3 jaunt that made it 76-67 on a Kaim three-point play at 2:57, and another Kaim basket and foul shot with fewer than 40 seconds left made it 80-72. A Wheelock three-point try to cut its deficit to six with less than 20 ticks to go was off, and the AMCATS ran out the clock. Partial Release Courtesy of Wheelock Sports InformationPhoto Courtesy of Amanda LeBoeuf for AMC Sports information
