AMCATS Suffer 75-64 Loss to Amherst
Posted: Nov 21, 2016

AMCATS Suffer 75-64 Loss to Amherst

Game Leaders
Amherst
Pts: Johnny McCarthy - 20
Reb: 3 Players (#10, #32, #44) - 6
Ast: Jayde Dawson - 8
Anna Maria
Pts: Mike Rapoza - 22
Reb: Mike Rapoza - 7
Ast: Liam Pickett - 3
Team Stats
Full stats

PAXTON, Mass.—The AMCATS fell to Amherst College 75-64 on Monday night on the campus of Anna Maria College. The loss drops the AMCATS to 0-4 on the season while the Purple and White improve to 3-0.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Freshman Michael Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) went 6-of-10 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free throw line en route to a game-high 22 points in addition to pulling in a game-high seven boards. Liam Pickett (Oxford, Mass.) added 10 points off the bench, while Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) chipped in eight points in the losing effort.

The AMCATS shot 37.7 percent from field goal range and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. They forced 14 turnovers by the Purple and White while Amherst made the home team turn the ball over 12 times.
 
Amherst College shot 50.9 percent from the field, highlighted by a 20-point effort from Johnny McCarthy while Jayde Dawson and Jacob Nabatoff added 12 points apiece. Eric Conklin and Michael Riopel combined for 17 of Amherst's 18 points off the bench, while David George chipped in seven points.
McCarthy, Nabatoff and Conklin pulled in six rebounds each, while Dawson and Reid Berman dished out eight and six assists respectively.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

FIRST HALF

In the first half, Jacob Nabatoff  canned an early three-pointer to give Amherst a 5-2 advantage less than two minutes into the contest. The sides played to three tie scores before a Nabatoff layup at the 14:34 mark gave the Purple & White a 12-9 lead. At the 12:06 mark, Malik Forouzan (Houston, Texas)  powered in a bucket in the paint to give Anna Maria a 15-14 edge. From there, McCarthy made four straight baskets, including a swish from three-point range with 8:54 left in the frame to help the visitors stake a 23-17 lead.

 

The AMCATS responded with a pair of Mike Rapoza free throws, and a Rapoza layup to pull Anna Maria to within two at 23-21. With 4:16 remaining in the first half, Forouzan drained a three to pull the AMCATS to within one (29-28), but Amherst scored seven straight points as McCarthy swished a shot from beyond-the-arc, while Jayde Dawson and Nabatoff added layups to make it 36-28 with 1:01 on the clock. A pair of Liam Pickett free throws made it 36-30, before Dawson knocked down a three-pointer with 23 seconds left, and then blocked a three-point attempt by David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) to close out the half with the Purple & White holding a 39-30 lead.

 

SECOND HALF

Amherst extended its lead to 14 early in the second half as Jeff Racy  struck from long distance, before McCarthy made a layup to give the Purple & White a 44-30 lead. A Rapoza layup at the 15:11 mark pulled Anna Maria to within six (55-44), but the visitors responded with a three-point play from Eric Conklin , a McCarthy layup, and a Nabatoff trey to extend the lead back to 14 (58-44) with 13:25 to play in the game. The AMCATS scored eight of the next 10 points to shrink the deficit to 60-52 before Michael Riopel swished a triple. Tanner Jakola (Leominster, Mass.) answered with a three-pointer of his own on the next possession, but Riopel struck again from downtown to make it 66-55 with 8:13 remaining in the contest.
Two foul shots by Rapoza set the score at 66-57 before Racy hit another three-pointer to push the lead to 69-57. From there, the Purple & White scored six of the final 10 points, capped by a Conklin bucket underneath to complete the 75-64 victory.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Anna Maria hosts Clark at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22. Amherst hosts Westfield State University on Tuesday, November 29 for a 7:00 p.m. contest.