Men's Basketball Downs St. Joseph's, 72-61

STANDISH, Maine – Anna Maria College (7-7, 5-2 GNAC) shot 56% (14-25) from three-point range in a 72-61 victory over Saint Joseph's College (6-7, 4-3 GNAC) at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday. Freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) netted 16 points with five rebounds in the losing effort.

Four different players made at least one three pointer for the AMCATS, who posted their highest three-point percentage of the season in today's triumph. Junior guard Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) led the effort with six treys in 10 attempts while junior guard Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) was 4-6 from downtown on the afternoon. For Anna Maria, today's 14 three-pointer tally counts as the most trifectas made in a game since the visitors converted the same number in a win over Western New England on February 17th, 2010.

The Monks opened the game with six straight points, as senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) drilled a pair of three pointers in the first 90 seconds to stake the hosts to an early advantage. Following a timeout, the AMCATS answered with a 10-2 run to claim their first lead of the day. Bradanese capped the run with a three, lifting the visitors to a 10-8 lead four minutes into play.

Anna Maria held a 15-12 cushion after senior forward Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.) tapped in a layup with 14:42 left in the first frame and Monks junior Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.) countered with a three pointer to knot the contest at 15-15 27 seconds later. As it played out, the AMCATS managed to put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run, as Delorey netted six points and Bradanese and senior guard Corey Pryor (Northbridge, Mass.) both connected from beyond the arc over the following two minutes to propel their team to a 27-15 lead.

The Monks managed to cut the deficit down to five points (30-25) with 8:56 remaining at the break, as Richardson-Newton scored six points during a three-minute span to momentarily lift the hosts back into play, but the AMCATS countered with a 10-3 outburst heading into intermission and carried a 45-30 lead at the break.

Richardson-Newton and Simonds led Saint Joseph's with eight points apiece at the break while Delorey and Bradanese scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the first 20 minutes of play. Anna Maria shot 66.7% (10-15) from beyond the arc in the first half.

The AMCATS started the second stanza with seven straight points, with Bradanese accounting for five to help the visitors claim a 52-30 lead with 17:20 remaining. Anna Maria held at least a 14-point lead until the 2:20 mark, when Saint Joseph's capped an 8-0 surge to cut the deficit down to 71-61. The Monks would get no closer to the lead however, as the AMCATS controlled play for the remainder of the contest.

For the Monks, Simonds totaled 13 points with four rebounds and a pair of assists, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) scored 13, and Downing chipped in with nine points in the losing effort.

For the AMCATS, Bradanese led all scorers with 23 points while accumulating six assists and five rebounds, Delorey totaled 19 points and five caroms, Franklin boasted 14 points, seven boards and three assists, and Pryor contributed nine points on the afternoon.

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 8-6 all-time versus Anna Maria College, a team the Monks defeated both at home (78-66) and on the road (80-57) last season.

Saint Joseph's returns to the hardwood on Monday when the Monks travel to Mount Ida College for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. Anna Maria resumes play Tuesday with a 7:00 p.m.  game versus GNAC-rival Lasell College