Men’s Hoops Outlasts Rivier in Overtime

PAXTON, MA : Anna Maria sophomore guard Trevian Grenon (Sutton, MA) hit two clutch three-pointers in overtime as the Anna Maria College men's basketball team prevailed 89-80 against visiting Rivier University on Saturday in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Fuller Center in Paxton.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, January 15, 2022
• Score: Rivier 89, Anna Maria 80
• Records: Raiders of Rivier 5-8, 1-5 GNAC | AMCATS of Anna Maria 6-6, 3-3 GNAC
  

TURNING POINT:

• Down early in the first half, the AMCATS rallied with a 19-8 run, taking their first lead of the game off a jumper from Anna Maria senior guard Kennedy Minix-Rogers (Smyrna, GA) with 9:46 to go in the first, 25-23. Anna Maria took a 42-38 lead into halftime.
• The second-half was a grinding slugfest throughout. Down by two with 5:16 to go, the AMCATS again turned to Minix-Rogers who called his own number, driving inside and hitting on a pullup jumper to tie it at 62-62 as Rivier called timeout. Then with 3:08 left and clinging to a one-point lead, Anna Maria sophomore guard Joey Nuttall (Holden, MA) – the clutch hero of Wednesday night's win Norwich – stole the ball and drew an immediate foul, calmly burying both shots to put his team up by three. Finally, with 43 seconds to go in the game and still up by one, Nuttall hit sophomore forward Gabe Armstead (Dallas, GA) for a floater on the baseline, putting the AMCATS up by three.
• Just when it seemed it might be over, Rivier turned to junior guard Nikolas Pignone (Stoneham, MA), who buried a three-pointer with 20.2 seconds remaining. An Anna Maria jumper by Grenon at the buzzer was off the mark, and the game headed into overtime.
• Down by two with 1:43 to go in overtime and with the shot clock winding down, Grenon buried perhaps the biggest three-pointer of his career as the buzzer sounded, giving the lead back to the AMCATS. Then with 1:02 to go, it was Grenon again, hitting from just outside the arc to stretch the lead to four as Anna Maria held on, making their free-throws down the stretch.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Minix-Rogers came up strong down the stretch with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. Minix-Rogers was incredibly efficient, shooting only six-of-eight from floor and going nine-of-ten from the line.
• Rivier senior forward Miles Gillette (Washington, DC) led the Raiders with a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three steals.
• Armstead was once again a force in the middle as the rookie finished with 17 points, a team-high nine rebounds, a career-high four blocks and two steals.
• Rivier senior guard Pharaoh Davis (Plainville, MA) played nearly the entire game, finishing with 19 points.
• Grenon came off the bench to score 16 points with five boards, all while scoring the two biggest baskets of the game.
• Pignone finished with 15 points including the shot that sent the game into overtime. He also pulled down nine boards on the day.
• Anna Maria senior guard and leading scorer Ralph Grasso, Jr. (Marlborough, MA) overcame a slow shooting start to finish with 11 points and three assists.
• Anna Maria senior forward Hayden Braga (Foster, RI) finished a with a career-high ten points, with all of those coming in the first half. The senior also pulled down five boards.
• The AMCATS enjoyed a 39.7-35.6 edge in field goal percentage while committing eight fewer turnovers.

UP NEXT:

Anna Maria will be back on the court on Tuesday night when they travel to Saint Joseph's College in Maine for a 7:30 p.m. game.

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