Men's Basketball Bit by Gators

 PAXTON, Mass: The Anna Maria Men's Basketball team dropped a contest to non-conference opponent Pine Manor this evening 90-80 at Brunelli Court in Chestnut Hill.

PMC improves to 6-13 with the win, while the AMCATS drop to 6-14.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS

• Senior Rasheed Bell (Dorchester, Mass.) was the top performer in the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds, both game-highs.
• Bell already had a double-double in the first half as he scored 14 and grabbed 10 caroms in the opening period.
• Senior Jamel Hamans (Meriden, Conn.) also had a big game with 13 points and eight rebounds.
• Sophomore Sayvonn Houston (Brockton, Mass.) and Quarin Porter were the other two Gators in double-figures with 12 and 11, respectively.

FOR THE AMACATS

• Freshman Anthony Buckley (Haverhill, Mass.) led Anna Maria in scoring with 21 points.
• Junior John Dombrowski (Leominster, Mass.) scored 16 points, all in the second half, to spark his team's comeback attempt.
• Freshman Demario Scarpegnato (Haverhill, Mass.) had 12 points and a team-high five rebounds.

RECAP

The Gators set the tone for the game early on, opening with a 22-8 over the first 10 minutes of the game. Eventually opening up a 22-point lead heading into the break. Bell was a big part of building that lead as he scored 14 points on a 4-for-7 shooting from the field.

The Gators shot a solid 46.2 percent (18-for-39) in the first half, while limiting their opponents to only five field goals and an 18.5 percent (5-for-27) shooting percentage.

The AMCATS stepped up their scoring in the second half improving to a 66.7 percent (20-for-30) shooting percentage. Dombrowski was 6-for-8 from the field, including two three-pointers.

Anna Maria slowly chipped away at the 22-point deficit to close the gap to single-digits at 76-68 after Bailey Braga (Foster, R.I.) knocked down a three with just over five minutes remaining.

Over the next two and half minutes, the AMCATS would get as close as six points, but PMC was able to hold on for the 90-80 victory.

UP NEXT

The AMCATS will be back on the court this Saturday as they get set to take on the New addition to the GNAC on the men's side, the University of Saint Joseph's. Where they will get the chance to play against Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun. The tip off was originally scheduled for 12 PM but it was moved to 2 PM.