Men’s Basketball: AMCATS March Past Cadets, 68-56

Paxton, Mass. – The Anna Maria College men's basketball team downed Norwich University 68-56 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Thursday evening at Fuller Activities Center. With the win the AMCATS improve to 6-10 overall and 4-5 in conference play. They are currently riding a three-game win streak. The Cadets fall to 4-12 (2-7 GNAC) on the year.

Quantez Franklin (West Yarmouth, MA) led all AMCATS with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor. The senior was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line while also tallying 7 rebounds. Teammate Kyle McKissick (Charlton, MA) was two rebounds shy of his second double-double, posting 14 points and seizing a game-high 8 caroms. Junior guard Michael Gorman (Methuen, MA) dished out a match-high 7 assists in the victory.

The opening 5 minutes of play was close as both teams traded baskets with five lead changes. Tied 12-all Anna Maria would break the game open stringing together 10 consecutive points. First, Gorman found sophomore Tyler Delorey (Worcester, MA) on the outer edge for a trey, then Hugh Daye (Worcester, MA) followed with a triple. AMC's Delorey put back his own missed shot to extend the lead to eight points and senior Joseph Barillo (Dania Beach, FLA) had a nice lay-in in the paint to round out the run.

At the break Anna Maria led by 16 at 38-22 after Patrick Bradanese drained a triple from NBA range for the period's final basket. Anna Maria shot 51.6% from the floor while the Cadets countered with a 36.0% in the half.

Anna Maria's lead extended to 21 points (47-26) in the second half with 17:28 to go in the game. The Cadets responded with a 10-2 run over a span of four minutes to make the score 49-36. However Franklin would nail a pair from the charity stripe and add layup to push the lead back to 17.

The Cadets were led by 19 points from Nickolai Havoutis.

Anna Maria will continue league play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Mount Ida College for a 3:00 p.m. start.