Men's Basketball Falls to Wheaton in Overtime, 78-70

MIDDLETOWN, Conn.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team overcame an 18-point deficit in the first half and held a five-point lead with 2:56 left in the second half against the Lyons of Wheaton College on Friday evening.  The two teams finished regulation tied at 64-64 to force overtime, where the Lyons prevailed, 78-70, in the second game of the Red & Black Tournament held by Wesleyan University.

The loss drops the AMCATS to 2-6, while the win boosts the Lyons to 3-5. Wheaton will advance to tomorrow's tournament championship game against Wesleyan, while the AMCATS will battle the University of New England in the consolation game.

Anna Maria was led offensively by Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) with 17 points. Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) scored 13 points with six rebounds, while Pedro Trindade (Billerica, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points.

Wheaton's Billy Battaglia tallied a game-high 35 points on an 11-for-21 effort from the floor with two three-pointers, in addition to an 11-of-13 effort from the free-throw line. Ryan Fogarty chipped in with 14 points, while Eddie Capstick scored 11.

The Lyons exploded for an early 18-point lead at 28-10 with 7:08 to play in the first half. The AMCATS used the final seven minutes to dig out of the deficit, and trailed by 11, 35-24, at halftime.

Anna Maria cut Wheaton's lead to single digits in the early minutes of the second half. With 4:15 left to play, the AMCATS took the 54-53 lead on a layup by Trindade.  The lead extended to five points at the 2:56 mark following a layup by Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.).

Down one point with seven seconds remaining in regulation, the Lyons fouled to put Trindade on the line. He missed the first but made the second to put the AMCATS up 64-62. The Lyons missed the first shot on their ensuing trip down the floor but picked up a big offensive rebound and drew an AMCAT foul to put Battaglia on the line for two free-throws, which he drained to force overtime.

Battaglia also netted the first basket of overtime a minute in, and the Lyons would lead from there, as they outscored the AMCATS 14-6 in the extra time to take the 78-70 win.

The Lyons held advantages in points off turnovers (23-18) and points in the paint (36-28), but Anna Maria led in second-chance points (8-7) and bench points (32-22). The AMCATS shot 38.2 percent (26-68) from the floor, while Wheaton tallied a near-identical 38.8 percent effort (26-67).

Anna Maria will take on the University of New England at 1:00 p.m. Live stats will be available.