McKissick Leads AMCATS to Win Over Saints, 81-70

Paxton, Mass. – Sophomore forward Kyle McKissick (Charlton, MA) notched 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for  his first career double-double to lead the Anna Maria College men's basketball team to an 81-70 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over Emmanuel College at Fuller Activities Center on Monday afternoon.

With the win the AMCATS move to 5-10 overall and 3-5 in GNAC play, while the Saints dip to 3-12 (1-8 GNAC) on the season.

Once again the senior tandem of Joseph Barillo (Dania Beach, FL) and Quantez Franklin (West Yarmouth, MA) paced the AMCATS in the win. Barillo chipped in with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and a steal while "Q" poured a team-high 15 points. Junior guard Michael Gorman (Methuen, MA), who was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, added 13 points.  Sophomore Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, MA) joined his teammates in double-figures with twelve first-half points.

The Saints received a game-high 18 points from Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, CA), including four triples. Alex Meyers (Long Beach, CA) chipped in 13 points, while Brandon Jones (Windsor, CT) had 16 points and  four rebounds off the bench.

Anna Maria quickly built a 7-2 lead four minutes into the game when Bradanese connected on a try from deep in the corner off  a nice feed from guard Hugh Daye (Worcester, MA). The Saints responded with strong defense including a pair of steals by Tyler Russ (Stratham, NH) and Josh Welles (Philadelphia, PA) to take their first lead of the game 8-7 with 12:25 to play. The teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes and with 4:35 left in the stanza the score was tied 25-25. Down one (32-31) with 1:50 to play, the AMCATS would reel off seven straight points including a basket and a three-pointer from Bradanese and a pair from the charity stripe by McKissick to take their largest lead of the half (38-32). The Saints responded with a pair of Jordan DeMario (Aliso Viejo, CA) free-throws to cap the end of the half with Emmanuel trailing 38-34 entering the break.

The AMCATS held the first half advantage in shooting percentage (53.6% to 46.2%) and rebounds (16-12) over Emmanuel.

Trailing 43-36 early in the second half, after a Barillo triple from the corner, the Saints would roll off a five consecutive points capped by a Brandon Jones three-point play to make it a one possession game. However, Anna Maria answered with an 11-2 run to push the lead to 54-43 with half a period remaining. Anna Maria used a balance attack with Barillo, Franklin and Tyler Delorey each contributed three points apiece in the run.

AMC posted its largest lead of the game, 73-52 with 3:29 on the scoreboard when Gorman canned a pair of free throws. Emmanuel countered with three consecutive baskets from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 75-64 with 1:04 remaining in regulation. Anna Maria connected on their free-throws down the backstretch to round out the 81-70 final.

Anna Maria dominated the glass, holding a 39-28 advantage – that included 15 offensive rebounds. The Saints shot 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field and were a blistering 52.9% (9-of-17) from three-point range. Ann Maria knocked down 26-of-54 shots and shot 48.1% from the floor, and committed 16 turnovers.

Anna Maria returns to action on Thursday evening when they host Norwich University at 7:00 p.m. while Emmanuel is off until Saturday afternoon when they travel to Suffolk University for a 1:00 p.m. match-up.