The Anna Maria College AMCATS topped the Suffolk University Men's Basketball team, 74-61 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Tuesday evening.
Four players finished with double digits in scoring for the AMCATS led by senior Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, R.I.) who was 5-for-6 from the field in the second half as he finished with a team-high 18 points.
It was a tight contest throughout most of the game until the closing five minutes when the AMCATS went on a 14-2 run to give themselves a 68-56 lead with 1:38 remaining.
The victory improves Anna Maria to a 15-7 record on the year and 13-2 mark in GNAC play, while Suffolk falls to an 8-14 overall record and 6-9 in-conference mark.
Both teams combined for 15 lead changes through the first 35 minutes of action, until senior Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) would even the game up at 56-56 with five and a half minutes left.
On their next possesion senior Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) put the AMCATS up by a pair, before a defensive takeaway by Anna Maria and a layup by Click would swing things towards the visitors way.
Five different players would score as part of their dozen point run in the final minutes of the contest as the Rams struggled to find a way to score.
Senior Colin Halpin (Melrose, Mass.) would finally get the Rams back on the board as he connected on a three-pointer, but Anna Maria would close out the victory going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final ninety seconds.
Halpin finished the game leading all scorers with 21 points on a 4-for-6 night shooting from beyond the arc. Halpin was hot in the first half as he entered the break with 17 points giving the Rams a 36-33 edge over the opening 20 minutes of play.
Senior Chris Torres (Brockton, Mass.) scored 14 points for Suffolk, while senior Matt Pepdjonovic (Quincy, Mass.) finished just shy of a double-double as he recorded nine points and led all players with 12 rebounds.
Click had a big night on both ends of the court for Anna Maria as he netted 17 points to go along with nine boards, five assists, two blocks and seven steals.
Freshman Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) also scored 17 points, while he had eight rebounds and forced five Suffolk turnovers.
Senior Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for the AMCATS as he had 10 points.
The biggest difference in the game was the defensive pressure put on by Anna Maria as they forced 28 Suffolk turnovers which they cashed into 30 points.
Suffolk held a slight edge on the glass in the contest by a 43-42 margin.
Both teams will be back in GNAC action on Saturday afternoon. Anna Maria will travel to Nashua, N.H. for a 3:00pm tip-off with the Rivier University Raiders. Suffolk heads across the Boston Common to take on the Emerson College Lions beginning at 1:00pm.