Men's Basketball Tops Suffolk, 88-71

BOSTON—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team downed the Rams of Suffolk University 88-71 on Saturday afternoon in a late-morning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup.

The win marks the third-straight for Anna Maria, who improves to 10-7 overall and 6-4 in league play. Suffolk falls to 4-13 overall and 2-8 in GNAC action.

AMCAT LEADERS

Anna Maria saw a game-high 30 points from senior Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.). Bradanese shot 10-for-21 from the floor with three three-pointers, alone with a 7-for-7 effort from the free-throw line. Classmate Corey Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) was close behind with 28 points and a game-high five three-pointers.

Senior Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) led the team on the boards with 10 rebounds.

SUFFOLK LEADERS

Suffolk saw 28 points from Matt Duquette, followed by 13 points from Jake Meister. The Rams also received 11 points from Michael Hagopian.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duquette opened the scoring to what would be a tight first 20 minutes. Anna Maria out in front on a good trey from Pryor at 15:59 and held the advantage the remainder of the way. The Rams contested the AMCATS' advantage and a three by Meister with 7:56 remaining before the half tied things up at 25.

Anna Maria burst right out to a six-point edge, 31-25, where it stayed until Pryor swished one from long range to make things 46-38 in favor of the visitors at the half.

Four freebies to open the second stanza pulled Suffolk within four, but Anna Maria answered with five quick points to take its first 10-point lead of the day, 52-42. Determined to stay in the hunt, the Rams rattled off nine unanswered points to make it a one-point game, 52-51.

Out of an Anna Maria timeout, the visitors put in five straight points, before Duquette went on a tangent for the Rams. The senior scored eight not just Suffolk's, but the game's points to keep it a two-point game.

After a hoop from Adam Chick, Suffolk went cold and Anna Maria took advantage as the AMCATS went on a 16-5 stretch. Anna Maria's 83-66 lead was too much to overcome for the Rams and the AMCATS walked away with an 88-71 conference victory.

FINAL COMPARISONS

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half. Suffolk put together a 51.6 (16-31) connection rate from the floor, 37.5 percent from three and 75 percent at the line. Anna Maria was 50 percent (19-38) from the field, 31.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and 75 at the stripe.

Overall, Anna Maria finished with a 43.8 percent effort from the floor (32-73) and a 37 percent effort from three-point range (10-27). Suffolk hit 27-of-58 from the floor (46.6 percent) and 6-of-16 from long-range.

Anna Maria held advantages in boards, 41-35, points in the paint, 40-38, and second chances, 13-6.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS travel to Mount Ida on Wednesday for a 6:00 p.m. GNAC matchup for a rematch of Monday's 87-78 Anna Maria victory over the Mustangs.