AMCATS Fall to Falcons, 87-66

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Anna Maria College men's basketball team suffered an 87-66 loss at Albertus Magnus College on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action. The AMCATS fall to 4-19 overall this season and 4-12 in conference play while the Falcons rise to 18-4 overall and 14-2 in the GNAC.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Junior forward, Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) posted a double-double for the AMCATS with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) added a team high 19 points to go along with seven boards. Senior guard, David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) rounded out double-digit scoring for the AMCATS with 10 points. Freshman, Raphael Coleman (East Hampton, Mass.) came off the bench to post six points for the AMCATS.

Jaqhawn Walters led all scorers with 25 points and added 14 rebounds for a double-double in the victory for the Falcons. Senior Grant Ellis added 14 points for the home team and Ryan Pittman posted 10 points, seven rebounds and a game high five steals in the victory.

Albertus Magnus Shot 50% from field goal range going 36-for-72 while the AMCATS shot an even 40% going 28-for-70 on the day. The home team shot 28.6% from three-point range while the AMCATS shot just 16% knocking down four three pointers. Both teams shot and even 50% from the free-throw line. The Falcons outrebounded Anna Maria 50-40.

HOW IT HAPPENED?

Anna Maria came out with vengeance as the AMCATS opened the game with an 8-2 run to force the Falcons to call a timeout to regroup just three minutes in. Following the break, Albertus rallied together a short spurt before a layup from Aaron Fox (Jamaica, Queens) tied the game up at 10-all.

Over the next couple of minutes, both teams battled through two ties until a three from Shaquille Mitchell (Linden, N.J.) put the hosts up two, 20-18. The Falcons continued to push their lead to double-digits and found themselves up 13, 44-31, at the half.

Albertus continued to shine in the second half as a layup from Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) gave the hosts a 23-point cushion, 60-37, with 13:26 remaining. The closest the AMCATS got was at the 8:27 mark as Tanner Jakola (Leominster, Mass.) cut the Falcons' lead to within 17, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons secured the 87-66 home win.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The AMCATS host Suffolk University on Tuesday, Feb. 14^th for a 6:00 p.m. GNAC contest while the Falcons travel to Emmanuel College on the same day for a 7:00 p.m. conference matchup.