PAXTON, Mass. - The Suffolk men's basketball team was defeated by Anna Maria, 81-70, Wednesday night in GNAC action.
Suffolk falls to 4-16 overall and 2-11 in league action with the loss, while Anna Maria improves to 11-9 overall and 7-6 in GNAC play.
The Rams finished with three double-digit scorers, led by senior Jake Meister with 19 points. Junior Matt Duquette was close behind with 18 points, followed by senior Caleb Unni with 16.
Tyler Delorey became the 22nd 1,000-point scorer in Anna Maria history, thanks to a 27-point effort. The AMCATS saw 22 points off the bench from Corey Pryor. Classmate Patrick Bradanese finished with 15 points and five assists, while fellow senior Kyle McKissick recorded a game-high 13 rebounds.
Anna Maria held scoring advantage is points off turnovers (18-5), second-chance points (21-6), points in the paint (30-28), fast-break points (16-0) and bench points (29-9). Despite this, the AMCATS were actually bested by the Rams from the floor—42.4 percent (25-59) to 41.1 percent (30-73).
The Rams also held a 13-12 advantage in points scored at the free-throw line, while Anna Maria cleaned up on the boards, outrebounding Suffolk 48-36.
The first 15 minutes of the game were back-and-forth as the teams exchanged five leads and were tied four times. Trailing by two, 28-26, with 5:34 still to play in the half, the AMCATS took the final lead change of the half on a three-pointer by Bradanese.
Anna Maria would hold Suffolk scoreless for the remainder of the half while scoring 12 points of its own, including a steal-layup combination by Kenneth Graham that sparked the crowd and put the AMCATS up by nine. A final free throw by Graham with four seconds left in the half sent the hosts into the halftime with a 40-28 advantage.
The AMCATS scored the first two points of the second half on a pair of free-throws by McKissick and Anna Maria took a 15-point lead minutes later on a three-pointer by David Jean-Louis. The AMCATS would lead by as many as 18 in the first part of the second half, until Suffolk began to chip away at the deficit.
A 10-4 run over a two-minute stretch midway through the half helped Suffolk cut Anna Maria's lead to single-digits, 55-48, following a three-pointer by Caleb Unni. A free-throw by Steven Diprizio brought the Rams within six, but it would prove to be the closest they would get as Anna Maria opened up another double-digit window.
One last Suffolk run brought it within six points again following a triple by Michael Hagopian with 29 seconds on the clock but the Rams were forced to foul for possession and sent Pryor to the line, where he drained two. A defensive board by McKissick on Suffolk's last trip down the floor set up Delorey for his 1,000-point milestone play.
Suffolk returns to action Saturday as the Rams host Norwich at 3:15 p.m.