Men’s Basketball Pulls Away In Second Half To Drop Dean

PAXTON, MA: The Anna Maria College men's basketball team used a dominant second half to win 80-61 over visiting Dean College on Monday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Fuller Center in Paxton.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Monday, January 24, 2022
• Score: Anna Maria 80, Dean 61
• Records: AMCATS of Anna Maria 8-6, 5-3 GNAC | Bulldogs of Dean 5-9, 0-7 GNAC
  

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In the first half, Anna Maria led by as much as nine before Dean closed the gap in the final minutes, tying it up on a free throw with 10.9 seconds remaining before the AMCATS beat the buzzer with a layup from AMCAT sophomore guard Trevian Grenon (Sutton, MA) and the hosts leading 41-39. Anna Maria's superior shooting – 54.3 percent from the floor – was largely countered by Dean's 28-16 edge in rebounding.
• In the opening minutes of the second half, the AMCATS turned defense into offense, frustrating the Bulldogs into a series of costly turnovers leading to a 10-0 Anna Maria run to go up by double-digits, a stretch capped off with a layup from senior guard and team captain Ralph Grasso, Jr. (Marlborough, MA) with the score 57-47 and 15:23 to go in the game, and they would never look back. Anna Maria would go up by as much as 25 before pulling the starters in the final minutes.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Grasso Jr. led the AMCATS with 26 – one off his career-high - shooting 12-of-19 from the floor.
• Dean junior forward Mark Blair (Rosedale, NY) led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 12 rebounds, posting a double-double in the first half alone.
• Anna Maria sophomore forward Gabe Armstead (Dallas, GA) continued to show why he's one of the best rookie big men in the region as he finished with 16 points, nine boards and a career-high six blocks, all while shooing 77.8 percent from the floor.
• Dean junior forward Hunter Meyer (Taylor Mill, KY) contributed seven points and five rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs.
• Anna Maria sophomore guard Jakai Alexandre (Fitchburg, MA) filled the stat-line with ten points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds.
• Dean sophomore guard Shim Daniels (New Haven, CT) added ten points off the bench.
• Anna Maria freshman forward Sean Zabari (Miami, FL) gave the AMCATS a boost of energy off the bench, scoring a career-high 11 points in just ten minutes of court time to go along with three steals.
• After starting their GNAC conference schedule at 1-3, the AMCATS have now won four straight games.

UP NEXT:

Anna Maria will be back on the court on Wednesday when they travel to Norwich for a 7:00 p.m. game.

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