Men's Basketball Rallies for 77-74 win against JWU

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team trailed by 17 points with 7:30 left to play but outscored the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University 27-7 to claim a 77-74 victory in Thursday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Both teams entered tonight's game on seven-game winning streaks. The win propels the AMCATS to 10-7 overall and 8-2 in GNAC play, while the loss sets the Wildcats back to 14-4 overall and9-2 in league action.

 The AMCATS were paced by a trio of double-figure scorers, led by junior Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) with a team-best 24 points. Classmate Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in with 18 points, while senior Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.) added 16 points.

Quarry Greenaway led Johnson & Wales with 28 points on a 10-for-18 effort from the floor and an 8-9 performance from the free-throw line. Tom Garrick and Jarell Lawson both scored 17 points apiece.

Trailing 67-50 with 7:30 left on the clock, Anna Maria head coach Shawn Conrad called timeout and motivated his team to score eight-straight points on back-to-back three-pointers by Bradanese and a jumper by Delorey.

The Wildcats responded a pair of free-throws by Greenaway, but Bradanese hit another three-pointer, then a layup, and Franklin converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to cut JWU's lead to four at 70-66.

Bradanese forced Greenaway into a turnover on JWU's next trip down the floor, and a jumper by Franklin brought Anna Maria within two points. Senior Michael Gorman (Methuen, Mass.) grabbed a big defensive rebound on the other end and set up Franklin for the game-tying jump shot with 2:39 on the clock.

Franklin was fouled with 1:49 to play and hit one of two to give Anna Maria the 71-70 lead. Bradanese connected on a three-point play seconds later, and JWU snapped a four-minute scoreless streak on the next trip down with a jumper by Garrick. Garrick hit a second shot with 41 seconds left to tie the score at 74-74 before Delorey and Kyle McKissick (Billerica, Mass.) hit three-straight free-throws to claim the win.

Anna Maria hit 50.9 percent of their field goal attempts (29-57) including eight three-point baskets. Johnson & Wales connected on 43.1 percent of attempts (28-65), but hit just four three-pointers in 21 attempts.

JWU dominated for most of the game, scoring from the opening tipoff and not trailing until under the two-minute mark. The Wildcats held a 38-32 lead at halftime, and dominated all the scoring categories: points off turnovers (20-10), second-chance points (12-8), and bench points (18-9).

Anna Maria held a 39-31 advantage in rebounds.

The AMCATS will be back in action on Saturday, when they host St. Joseph's College at 1:00 p.m.