Men's Basketball Heads to ECAC Tournament on Saturday, Takes on Colby-Sawyer

DANBURY, Conn.—The Anna Maria College men's basketball team has accepted a bid to the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Tournament, earning the third seed in a five-team tournament. Colby-Sawyer College will serve as host for the semifinals and finals, and the AMCATS will take on their hosts on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE

Both live stats and live video will be available, courtesy of the Colby-Sawyer College Athletic Department.

BRACKETOLOGY

First Round – Wednesday, March 5

#4 Elms vs. #5 Pine Manor at Pine Manor - 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5

Semifinal #1: No. 1 Nichols vs. No. 4 Elms/No. 5 Pine Manor winner at Colby-Sawyer – 1:00 p.m.
Semifinal #2: No. 3 Anna Maria vs. No. 2 Colby-Sawyer at Colby-Sawyer – 3:00 p.m. 

Championship – Sunday, March 6

Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2 at Colby-Sawyer - 2:00 p.m.

NO. 3 ANNA MARIA AT NO. 2 COLBY SAWYER

Colby-Sawyer earned the second seed after posting a 19-7 record. The Chargers made an appearance in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) title game for the second straight season, but fell to top-seed Husson. Colby-Sawyer will make their first trip to the ECAC Tournament since the 2008-09 season and ninth trip overall. The Chargers won the 1997-98 ECAC Championship.  

Anna Maria has a 14-12 record and will enter the ECAC Tournament after a tough 91-89 loss to Emmanuel in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals. The AMCATS will be making their fifth trip to the ECAC Tournament in the past six seasons.

Both former members of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, Anna Maria and Colby-Sawyer met annually until 2011. They have not played each other since January 15, 2011—a 70-67 victory for the Chargers at home. From 1995 to 2011, Colby-Sawyer claimed a 19-4 overall record against Anna Maria.

SCOUTING THE AMCATS

The AMCATS enter the ECAC Semifinals after bowing out in the quarterfinals of the GNAC tournament. As a team, Anna Maria averages 78.8 points per game and shoots at a 44.5 percent efficiency. The AMCATS hit an average of eight three-pointers per contest. Defensively, the AMCATS allow an average of 81.9 points per game, while opponents shoot at 45.5 percent.

Probable Starters:

Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) – a senior guard and team co-captain, Bradanese averages a team-leading 19.9 points per game, shoots 41.9 percent from the floor, and dishes out a GNAC-best 5.7 assists per game. Defensively, Bradanese averages 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game and was named a GNAC All-Conference First Team selection.

Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) – a senior guard a team co-captain, Delorey is second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting. He adds 2.2 assists per game along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

Corey Pryor (Whinisville, Mass.) – a senior guard, Pryor spent most of the season as the sixth-man, but worked his way into the starting lineup for the final two games of the season, including the GNAC Quarterfinal game. Pryor averages 11.3 points per game and shoots at 43.5 percent from the floor.

Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) – a senior forward, McKissick has been crucial in the paint for Anna Maria. He averages a team-leading 7.7 rebounds in addition to 8.8 points per game.

Pedro Trindade (Billerica, Mass.) – a senior forward, Trindade averages 6.1 points per game on a team-leading 53.3 percent shooting effort. He adds 4.8 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS

Colby-Sawyer averages 81.7 points per game and hold a 7.4-point scoring margin on the season, holding opponents to 74.3 points per game. As a team, the Charger shoot 42.2 percent from the floor and average 9.2 three-pointers per outing. Colby-Sawyer also outrebounds their opponents by five boards per game and commits an average of three turnovers less than their foes.

Probable Starters:

Peter Donato – The NAC Defensive Player of the Year, senior forward Donato averages a team-best 22.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He shoots at 53.7 percent from the post and has a team-leading 37 blocks this season.

Wol Majong – A NAC All-Conference Second Team selection, Majong averages 17.2 points per game and has scored 59 three-pointers this season as a senior guard. He shoots at 39.3 percent overall and 36.9 percent from long-range. He also dishes out 4.2 assists per game.

Taylor Grande – A sophomore guard, Grande has started all 26 games this season and leads the team in assists with 121 total (4.7 per game). He also adds 8.9 points per game on 33.5 percent shooting.

Jake Maynard – a senior forward, Maynard has made 20 starts on the season and has appeared in 22 of 26 games. He ranks second on the team in rebounds with 7.1 per game and also adds 8.7 points per game.

Milani Hicks – a freshman guard, Hicks worked his way into the starting lineup this season and has started in 14 of the last 15 games for the Chargers. He averages 8.3 points per game and adds 5.6 rebounds per outing.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

The winner of Saturday's semifinal will advance to Sunday's championship game, also held at Colby-Sawyer.