Raiders Take 75-72 Win from AMCAT Men's Basketball

NASHUA, N.H.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team led by as many as 11 points in the second half but ultimately fell to the Raiders of Rivier University 75-72 on Thursday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

The win was the first of the season for Rivier, who now sits at 1-6 overall and 1-1 in GNAC play. The AMCATS are also 1-1 in GNAC play following tonight's loss, and sit at 4-3 overall.

AMCAT LEADERS

Senior Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) scored a team-leading 21 points and added seven rebounds. David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) and Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 13 points apiece. Jean-Louis also dished out three assists.

RIVIER LEADERS

Andre Ruff led the Raiders with a game-high 24 points on a 7-for-19 effort from the floor including two three-pointers. He also added eight points at the free-throw lie. Edward Soucie added 13 points, followed by Anthony Simmons with 10 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The AMCATS used an 8-1 run midway through the first half to break open a 14-14 to take control of the scoreboard, eventually building to a 42-36 lead at halftime. Anna Maria would hold their largest lead of 11 points with 11:59 minutes in the second half, but that would prove to be the apex for the AMCATS, as Rivier held their guests scoreless for the next three minutes.

In that scoreless stretch, the Raiders scored nine unanswered points to come within two at 57-55. Anna Maria managed to keep the lead until Ruff hit back-to-back field goals, including a three-pointer, and Soucie added two free-throws to tie the score at 66-66 with 4:30 left to play.

Ruff hit a jumper to take the lead briefly at 68-66, but Jean-Louis responded with one at his own to even the score again. Following a missed jumper on the Raiders side, the AMCATS had two chances to score following a timely offensive rebound by Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.), but Anna Maria was unable to score and Simmons hit a three for Rivier with 1:22 remaining to take control for good.

FINAL COMPARISONS

The AMCATS tallied a 47.4 percent effort from the floor (27-57), while Rivier shot at 46.4 percent (26-56). Anna Maria finished with eight three-pointers to Rivier's six, but the biggest disparity of the night came at the free-throw line, where Rivier hit 17 of 20 attempts, while Anna Maria hit just 10 in 18 attempts.

The Raiders also held a 34-39 advantage on the boards.

WHAT'S NEXT

Anna Maria returns to action on Saturday, when it travels to St. Joseph's College of Maine for a 1:00 p.m. GNAC matchup.