Albertus Magnus Outlasts Men's Basketball, 108-93

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team held a four-point lead at halftime but allowed the Albertus Magnus College Falcons to score 61 second-half points en route to a 108-93 loss in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Tuesday evening.

With the loss, Anna Maria falls to 6-5 overall and 2-2 in GNAC action, while the win boosts Albertus Magnus to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.

AMCAT LEADERS

Anna Maria was led by senior Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) with 21 points on a 10-for-20 shooting effort from the floor. Classmate Corey Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) tallied 17 points and seven assists off the bench, followed by Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) with 16 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

Senior Connor O'Leary (Marlborough, Mass.) had a career day for Anna Maria with 14 points on a 5-for-6 effort from the floor and a 4-for-5 effort from the charity stripe.

ALBERTUS MAGNUS LEADERS

Four out of five of the Falcons starters scored in double figures, led by Shontaey Lovell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 21 points. Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.) finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Marc Wilson (Jersey City, N.J.) and Chaunce Dunbar (Windsor, Conn.) rounded out the top scorers with 19 and 14 points, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Falcons raced to an early seven-point lead in the first four minutes of the game but Anna Maria fought back on the strength of a 11-4 run to even the score at 20-20 at the 12:33 mark. The AMCATS took their first lead of the day on the next play, a fast-break layup by Delorey, assisted by Bradanese.

The AMCATS perfected the fast-break layup in the first half as they scored 16 of their 51 points on the fast break. Bradanese finished the first half with six assists—all half-court lobs in transition.

The remainder of the first half was back-and-forth, as the two teams exchanged seven lead changes while also tying the score seven times. Anna Maria took the four-point lead into halftime on the strength of four made free-throws by Pryor in the final 1:17 of the half.

Bradanese buried two free-throws to kick off the second half but it was all Albertus Magnus from there, as they used a 7-0 run to take a 55-53 lead just two minutes later. The AMCATS would knot the score once more at 55-55 and would take one last lead at 61-60, but the Falcons would rush to take a six-point lead by the 13-minute mark. The visitors broke things open from there, using the final eight minutes of the game to build a double-digit lead en route to the 108-93 victory.

FINAL COMPARISONS

The Falcons finished the day shooting 58.2 percent from the floor (46-79). Anna Maria had a strong first half, hitting 21 of 38 shots (55.3 percent) but fell off in the second half by shooting 43.8 percent (14-32) for an overall accuracy of 50 percent (35-70).

Albertus Magnus held a 76-58 advantage in points in the paint, a 20-17 edge in points off turnovers, and a 14-11 lead in second-chance points, but the AMCATS topped the Falcons on the fast break, 22-18. Anna Maria also saw a 43-30 advantage in bench points.

Albertus Magnus controlled the boards with a 42-32 advantage in rebounds. Sixteen of their rebounds came on the offensive end.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS return to action on Thursday when they host Emmanuel College in a 6:00 p.m. GNAC matchup. The Falcons are also in action on Thursday, hosting Lasell at 7:00 p.m.