Wildcats Top AMCATS, 74-55
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anna Maria (4-18, 4-11 GNAC) | 29 | 26 | 55 |
|
Johnson & Wales (RI) (11-9, 11-3 GNAC) | 28 | 46 | 74 |
PROVIDENCE, RI – It was a tale of two different halves on Tuesday for the Anna Maria College and Johnson & Wales University men's basketball teams. The AMCATS took the momentum in the opening half before the Wildcats got the defense rolling in the second half and pulled away for a 74-55 victory over Anna Maria. The loss drops the AMCATS to 4-18 overall and 4-11 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. Johnson & Wales improves to 11-9 overall and 11-3 in the conference.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) led the AMCATS with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) added 15 points and six rebounds for Anna Maria and David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) rounded out double-digit scoring for the visitors with 10 points. Anthony Jernigan led Johnson & Wales with 18 points and 4 steals while Jarell Lawson added 13 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Edson Dascy hit a three pointer to put JWU up 15-11 at the 14:09 mark of the first half. However, the Wildcats wouldn't make another basket for nearly six minutes as the AMCATS built up a 21-15 margin on a Mike Rapoza layup.
The Johnson & Wales full court press caused problems for Anna Maria as the Wildcats went on a 13-2 run during the first five minutes of the second half to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. JWU limited the AMCATS to six field goals (6-27) in the second half while shooting 57.7 percent (15-26) itself.
Four Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Anthony Jernigan's game-high 18 points. He had 12 points and four steals in the second half alone. Dascy was next at 15 points while Jarell Lawson added 13 points and seven rebounds. Matt Madoian produced 12 points en route to the Wildcat's 11th GNAC victory.
The Wildcats hit 15-16 (93.8) at the charity stripe and were 7-18 (38.9) from three-point range. Conversely, the AMCATS only knocked down a trio of three pointers and were 16-30 (53.3 percent) from the line, including 12-24 in the second half. Anna Maria had a 41-33 advantage on the boards.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The AMCATS travel to Albertus Magnus on Saturday, Feb. 11 for a 1:00 p.m. GNAC contest. The Wildcats are back at home on Thursday when they take on Norwich at 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for January 7 but had to be moved due to inclement weather.
