Anna Maria outlasts Men's Basketball, 52-43

Worcester, MA --- Anna Maria never surrendered the lead as they defeated Worcester State, 52-43, in non-conference men’s basketball action this evening at Lancer Gym. Junior Monte Goodwin had a great all-around game in the defeat as he scored nine points, grabbed five boards, and blocked a career-high six shots.

January 26, 2012

Worcester, MA --- Anna Maria junior Javier Bristol (Haverhill, MA) and senior Brad Peterson (N. Kingstown, RI) combined for 25 points to help the AMCATS defeat local rival Worcester State, 52-43, in non-conference men's basketball action this evening at Lancer Gym.

Peterson finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds while Bristol tallied 12 points to go along with seven caroms.

Anna Maria (7-10) also had help from junior Anthony Click (Springfield, MA) who racked up eight points and hauled in a game-high 13 boards while also dishing out five assists. Click is now only 17 points from becoming the 20th AMCAT to reach the 1,000 point milestone.

Lancer sophomore Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) registered his 11th double-double of the season as he gathered team highs in points (11) and rebounds (12). Junior Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) had a great all-around performance scoring nine points, hauling in five boards and blocking a career-high six shots.

Sophomore Mike Gittens (Uncasville, CT) scored 11 while grabbing eight caroms for the Worcester State.

The AMCATS opened the game with a strong offensive surge from Bristol as he scored six points within the first 8½ minutes helping AMC jump out to the early 14-4 lead at the 11:29 mark.

The Lancers would respond by cutting the margin to five points with 6:49 remaining as senior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) sparked a 12-7 rally with a lay-up and a long trifecta at the top of the arc.

Anna Maria would answer and close out the half with an 11-3 run with the 32-19 lead at the intermission.

Peterson started the second stanza strong as he scored four points – including a slam-dunk – to give Anna Maria their largest lead of the game at the 17:34 mark (36-19).

The Lancers would battle back and slice the deficit to nine points twice over the next twelve minutes, but Peterson connected with a three-pointer with 4:53 left to push AMC ahead 46-34.

Worcester State used one final push with a 7-1 run to trail 47-41 with 2:06 left in regulation, but they would turn the ball over a three times in straight possessions as the visitors took advantage with a 5-2 run to end the game.

Both squads had below-average shooting performances as the Blue and Gold were limited to 28 percent from the field (14-for-51) while the AMCATS were slightly better with a 34 percent line (20-for-59).

The Lancers only connected for two of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc and canned just 13 of their 21 tries from the charity stripe (62 percent).

Anna Maria held advantages in total rebounds (46-39), offensive caroms (19-14) and points in the paint (28-22) as both teams were even in second chance points.

The two squads combined for just 24 total turnovers (12 apiece) and WSU would hold the final margin in points off turnovers (9-7) and fast-break points (11-8).

Both teams return to conference action on Saturday in their home gyms. Worcester State begins the second turn of their MASCAC schedule with Framingham State at 5:30 while the AMCATS take on Lasell at 3 PM.

Release by Jim Sarkisian – Sports Information Assistant