Clark Edges AMCATS in Men's Basketball, 71-68

Paxton, Mass – The Anna Maria College men's basketball team exploded for a 13-0 run off the opening tip-off but couldn't hold the lead late in the second half as the Clark Cougars battled back to a hard fought 71-68 victory over the host AMCATS in non-conference action tonight at Fuller Activities Center.

The Cougars improve to 3-0 while the AMCATS dip to 1-2.

Senior forward Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) poured in a game-high 31 points for the AMCATS, on 12-of-19 shooting with 3 three-pointers. He grabbed 7 boards, had 4 steals and dished out 2 assists on the night. Post grad Brad Peterson, the reigning GNAC Player of the Week, had ten points in limited minutes due to foul trouble in the second half.  Senior Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) was one rebound away from a double-double, nabbing 9 boards and tossing in 13 points.

Clark was led by Grad student Brian Veyda's (Sturbridge, Mass.) team-high 25 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Clark had three more players in double figures, junior Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) and DJ Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) each had 15 points and Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) converted 4-of-6 from behind the arc for 14 points.

Anna Maria opened the game with a brilliantly executed 13 point run spurred by seven points by Click that spanned almost seven minutes. Clark was able to shave four points off the lead with a  13-9 run over the next seven minutes, the AMCATS held a 22-13 lead with 8:18 remaining in the half. Three quick baskets by Joey Barillo (Dania Beach, Fla.), Click and Bristol pushed the lead to 15, fifteen minutes into the stanza.  The Cougars battled back to get the deficit under 10 going into halftime where the AMCATS led 32-23.

The Cougars led off the second half with a good jumper from Vayda and a three pointer from the corner by Armstrong to cut the lead to 36-30, but the AMCATS countered with hoops from Peterson, Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.)  and a tre from Click to push the margin to 49-36 after seven minutes of second half action.

Down 62-55 at the 5:34 mark, Clark's Armstrong connected for two crucial 3 pointers and when Brian Vayda sank a pair of free throws with 2:50 left, Clark had their first lead of the game 65-64. A three-point play by Click with just under a minute remaining cut the Cougar lead to 70-68 but the AMCATS could get any closer and Clark's comeback was complete.

Anna Maria returns to action in one week when they travel to Becker College to play the Hawks at 8:00pm.