Men's Basketball Edged By No.10 Nichols, 82-77

PAXTON, MA - In a tightly contested matchup that went back and forth night, that saw 15 lead changes, the Anna Maria College men's basketball team (0-5) was defeated by the No. 10 Nichols College Bison (3-0), 82-77 in non-conference action Tuesday evening at the Fuller Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both sides scored one right after the other early in the half, but the AMCATS used a 14-4 run at 13:51. Bobby Perette (Marshfield, MA) started the run by converting on a layup and three-pointer, Mike Rapoza (Charlton, MA) tied Perette with five points of his own during the run. Wallace Reed (Lynn, MA) and Jakai Alexandre (Fitchburg, MA) chipped in four and two points respectively for the 30-19 advantage. 
• However, the Bison stormed back with a 19-6 run with eight minutes left in the half. DeAnte Burton (New London, CT) paced the Bison during the run with eight points which included two three-pointers. Nate Tenaglia (Tewksbury, MA) added three points, Matt Morrow (Leicester, MA) had a made layup, and Kash Jackson (Canton, GA) hit the go-ahead three to put the Bison up 38-36.
• After a continuous back and forth last three minutes, Nichols ended the half with a slim 44-43 lead.
• When the second half started, the Bison came out firing with a 16-7 run led by Burton's six points along with makes from Morrow, Jaekwon Spencer (Bristol, CT), and Tenaglia for the 60-50 lead.
• Anna Maria recaptured the lead with a 17-6 run at the 12:36 mark. Demario Scarpegnato (Haverhill, MA) led the AMCATS during the run with seven points that included the go-ahead three-pointer at 5:15 for the 67-66 AMCATS lead. Ralph Grasso, Jr. (Marlborough, MA), Rapoza, and Alexandre also chipped in five, three, and two points respectively.
• Each side kept up the scoring and when the contest was tied at 72, Jason O'Regan (Charlton, MA) hit the dagger three with 2:04 left for the 75-72 lead, and the Bison ultimately held on for the 82-77 win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Rapoza had a near triple-double on the evening after he finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
• Scarpegnato and Perette rounded out the double-figure scoring for the AMCATS with 18 and 16 points.
• Scarpgnato's 18 points were a career-high.
• Bruton led all scorers on the evening with 31 points for the visitors.
• The AMCATS had better shooting and three-pointer percentage compared to Nichols (55.2/66.3 percent versus 50/37 percent).
• Anna Maria out-rebounded Nichols by a 33-29 margin. 
• The squad held No. 10 Nichols to their second-lowest scoring total on the season (74-November 15 at Eastern Connecticut State).

WHAT'S NEXT

Anna Maria travels to Albertus Magnus on Thursday, November 21 for a 7 PM matchup. No. 10 Nichols returns home when they host Worcester St. on Saturday, November 23 at 3 PM.

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