AMCATS EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO 11 GAMES, DOWN CADETS 85-72

PAXTON, Mass. (02.02.13) – Seniors Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, RI) and Javier Bristol (Haverhill, MA) combined for 43 points and 17 rebounds as the Anna Maria College men's basketball team defeated Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Norwich University, 85-72, at The Fuller Activities Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the AMCATS have now won eleven in-a-row and 12 straight GNAC contests, improving to 14-7 (12-2 GNAC). The loss drops the Cadets to 5-16 on the season and 2-12 in the conference.

Peterson shot an impressive 8-for-10 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the charity strip totaling 21 points, he also pulled down 8 rebounds on the day while Bristol was 8-for-13 from the field and grabbed 9 boards. Senior Anthony Click (Springfield, MA) was 3 assists shy of a triple-double, his monster stat line read 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

Norwich had four players in double figures. Junior Tom McDonald (Groton, MA) had a game-high 22 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor, 3-of-5 from downtown and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Teammate Josh Cabrera (Providence, RI) added 16 points and 6 rebounds while freshman Gary Gladden (Boynton Beach, FL) chipped in with 13 points. Starting forward Evan Tullar (Chelsea, VT) grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds to go along with 10 points.

The contest was a back-and-forth battle from the start, featuring six lead changes and four ties until the AMCATS pulled away in the second half.

After both teams battled to a 4-4 tie through the opening three minutes of play, the AMCATS went on a 7-0 run, sparked by consecutive layups from post grad Brad Peterson, Javier Bristol and Joey Barillo, to open up an seven-point lead.  AMC still maintained the advantage, 19-12 with 11:52 on the clock.

Undeterred, the CADETS responded with a 21-12 run to grab a 33-31 advantage with 2:23 remaining in the half. Adding a jumper by Tullar, Norwich built the lead to four points with less than two minutes to intermission. However, Anna Maria would close out the stanza with a 9-2 run, receiving key buckets by Peterson and Bristol, to hold a 40-37 heading into the locker room.

Anna Maria shot an even 50% from the floor (15-for-30) in the first half, the Cadets hit 13-of-31 for 41.9%. AMC held a slight edge in rebounds, 20-16.

The second half started out closely contested as the first, and after the opening five minutes of the period the AMCATS led by one at 47-46.

The AMCATS final started to pull away from the Cadets when with just under 12 minutes to play Barillo made a defensive steal and hit Click for a rim-rattling dunk and on the ensuing offensive possession sophomore guard Hugh Daye (Worcester, MA) found Click wide open from beyond the arc to push the lead to 58-48.

Norwich had one last push and cut the lead to seven points with a three pointer by Tullar with 11:28 left but the AMCATS pulled away late for the win.

Anna Maria will next travel to Suffolk University on Tuesday night for a 8:00pm GNAC match-up.