No. 5 Amherst Tops Anna Maria, 86-64

AMHERST, Mass.—The No. 5 Amherst College men's basketball team used a 48-point second half to break open a three-point halftime margin en route to an 86-64 win over the AMCATS of Anna Maria College on Monday night.

With the win, Amherst improves to 3-0 on the season, while the loss brings Anna Maria to 2-2.

AMCAT LEADERS

Senior Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) scored a team-high 20 points for Anna Maria on an 8-for-19 effort from the floor, including three three-pointers. Graduate student Corey Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) was the only other AMCAT to reach double figures in scoring, tallying 11 points off the bench.

AMHERST LEADERS

Sophomore Johnny McCarthy posted a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Jeff Racy chipped in with 16 points, followed by Jayde Dawson with 14 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The AMCATS trailed by just three points at halftime, 38-35, but the hosts held a 48-29 scoring advantage in the second half to take control of the game. Anna Maria managed to keep it within 10 points for the first few minutes of overtime and trailed by nine points, 69-60, with just over seven minutes to play.

Things turned in favor of Amherst from that point forward, as the fifth-seeded hosts held Anna Maria to just four points for the remainder of the game while exploding for 17 of their own.

FINAL COMPARISONS

Amherst finished the contest with a strong 51.5 percent effort from the floor (36-58), while Anna Maria shot 38.9 percent from the floor (28-72). Anna Maria hit one more three-pointer than Amherst with seven, but Amherst took 12 trips to the free-throw line, making 10, while Anna Maria finished just 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.

Amherst scored 21 of their points off of offensive rebounds and also scored 11 points off of AMCAT turnovers. Amherst held a 48-30 advantage in rebounds, 16 of which were on their own offensive end.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS have a quick turnaround, as they travel to Clark University for a 4:00 p.m. matinee tomorrow afternoon before breaking for the Thanksgiving holiday.