Men's Basketball Tops Clark, 80-72

Worcester, Mass. – Corey Pryor (Northbridge, Mass.) came off the bench and nearly finished with a triple-double as visiting Anna Maria handed host Clark University its fourth consecutive loss, 80-72, in non-league men's basketball action on Tuesday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

AMCAT LEADERS

Pryor racked up 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his 28 minutes of action, powering the AMCATS (3-2) to their second straight win over the Cougars (1-4) in their annual Tuesday-before-Thanksgiving tilt.

Patrick Brandanese (Billerica, Mass.) also had excellent all-around effort, ending with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Pedro Trindade (Billerica, Mass.) racked up a double-double with 12 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Anna Maria, which was playing their second game in less than 24 hours after falling to No. 5 Amherst on Monday, found themselves down 8-0 in the opening moments of the contest until they embarked on a 13-2 run that gave them a lead they would never relinquish.

That advantage ballooned to as many as ten in the first half at 35-25 on a Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) jumper with 2:10 left. Clark got as close as five in the closing seconds of the half as Luca McCormick (Bradenton, Fla.) converted a traditional three-point play and then connected on a jumper, but Payton registered a three-point play of his own and Bradanese scored a basket at the buzzer to give the visitors a 40-32 halftime edge.

After Bradanese opened the second half with a three-point bomb, the Cougars went on an 8-2 run to get to within five as David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) had his own three-point play and then connected three-pointer to get the Scarlet and White to within five at 45-40 less than two minutes into the stanza.

Over the next five plus minutes Anna Maria, scored 16 of the next 23 points as Pryor, Brandenese and David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) all dropped in three-pointers, putting the visitors ahead, 61-47.

Once again, Clark made a run, this time getting as close as six at 61-55 as Mercier scored inside, McCormick finished in close and Joe Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) swooped in for two.

The AMCATS pushed that lead back to double figures, reaching its peak at 16 (76-60) following back-to-back hoops from Trindade and Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.).

Undeterred, the Scarlet and White kicked off a 12-2 burst that featured a layup from Atkinson, free throws from Lamar Berk (Saint Augustine, Fla.) and five points from McCormick, trimming the Anna Maria advantage to six at 78-72.

The Cougars had two chances to get closer but three-pointers from McCormick and Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn.) were off the mark and Brandanese sealed the contest with a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining.

FINAL COMPARISONS

After shooting 53 percent from the field in the first half, Anna Maria cooled off in the second but still shot 48 percent for the game and they moved the ball extremely well, totaling 24 assists on their 32 made baskets.

Clark, meanwhile, shot 41 percent from the field but struggled from behind the arc, connecting on just five of 18 attempts.

The AMCATS controlled the boards, holding a 43-30 edge on the glass and had a 42-28 advantage in the paint.

The Scarlet and White were paced by McCormick, who finished with a career-best 26 points on 11-for-18 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds.

CLARK LEADERS

Meanwhile, Berk and Mercier added ten points apiece, while Atkinson collected eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

WHAT'S NEXT

Both teams are off until Tuesday, December 1 when Anna Maria hosts Norwich and Clark entertains Connecticut College.