Men's Basketball Edged by Nor'Easters, 63-60

MIDDLETOWN, Conn.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team fell to the Nor'Easters of the University of New England, 63-60, in the consolation game of the Wesleyan University Red & Black Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Both team's now sit at 2-7 overall.

The AMCATS were led by Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.) with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points, while Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) added eight points.

The Nor'Easters saw a game-high 25 points from Devin Thompson. Drew Coveney scored nine points off the bench, while Jean-Luc Parker and CJ Autry both scored eight points.

The AMCATS held an 11-point lead at halftime, but the Nor'Easters outscored Anna Maria 43-29 in the second half en route to the 63-60 win. Anna Maria held onto the lead until the 2:25 mark, when Coveney hit a three-point basket to give UNE the 57-56 lead.

A pair of free-throws by McKissick evened the score at 58-58 with 1:12 left to play, but UNE's Devin Thompson hit a three-pointer on UNE's next trip to reopen a three-point margin. The AMCATS ran out of time to reclaim the lead, and UNE held on for the three-point win.

The AMCATS hit 24-of-63 from the floor (38.1 percent) with a 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) effort from three-point range. The Nor'Easters had a 37 percent (20-54) effort from the floor and hit eight-of-26 from three-point range.

Anna Maria held a 14-13 advantage in points off turnovers, a 20-8 lead in second-chance points, a 19-15 advantage in bench points, and a 30-16 edge in points in the paint.

The AMCATS will be back in action on Tuesday, January 6 when they host Norwich University in a 5:00 p.m. Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game.