Men's Basketball Poised for GNAC Quarterfinal Upset at No. 4 Anna Maria

PAXTON, Mass. – Following yesterday's 99-69 victory in the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Opening Round over Dean College, No. 5 Emmanuel College is set to take on No. 4 Anna Maria College later today in the 2022 GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals at 7:00 PM.

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Emmanuel:

• The Saints entered the GNAC Tournament ranked second in the GNAC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 70.3 points per game.
• Emmanuel has taken great care of the basketball throughout the year, committing just 13.5 turnovers per contest to rank second in the league.
• EC currently ranks third in the GNAC in three-point field goals made, connecting on 201 triples over 25 games (8.04 per game).
• While the Saints have given up only 168 threes on the year, the sixth lowest 3PT FG total in the conference, opponents connected on 34.8% of attempts from behind the arc which was the worst team defensive percentage in the league from downtown.

Anna Maria:

• The AMCats know how to share the ball, ranking first in the GNAC in assists per game at 19.3 helpers a game which also ranks seventh in the country in Division III.
• Despite great ball movement, Anna Maria is towards the conference depths in three-pointers per contest, averaging only 6.1 makes from behind the arc each night to rank 11^th in the league
• The squad has struggled on the glass as well, ranking 11^th among conference peers in rebounding margin with a -6.0 boards per game.
• Despite not connecting on many from downtown, Anna Maria still ranks third in the GNAC in scoring and enters tonight averaging 81.0 points a game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Emmanuel:

• Sophomore guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) leads EC in scoring and rebounding with 17.6 points per game and a 7.8 rebounds per game while posting nine double-doubles this year.
• Grad student Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) is making his third GNAC postseason appearance, the most by any member of the Saints, and will provide veteran leadership while adding a solid scoring option if called upon entering the tourney averaging just under 10 ppg.
• Since entering the starting lineup in February, sophomore forward Eljay Morris (London, England) has connected on 50% of his attempts from the field while averaging over five rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game over the last seven contests of the regular season and playoffs.

Anna Maria

• Senior guard Ralph Grasso Jr. (Rosedale, N.Y.) enters the GNAC tournament average 15.3 points and averages a team-high 29.7 minutes per contest, shooting at a 44.1% clip from the field.
• Sophomore forward Gabe Armstead (Greensboro, N.C.) is averaging 15.1 points and 8.0 rebounds a night, connecting at a 47.5% rate from the field and was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week twice during his first season of collegiate hoops.
• First year guard Trevian Grenon (Taylor Mill, K.Y.) ranks fifth in the GNAC in 3PT shooting percentage, hitting 41.2% of the time from behind the arc and is averaging 11.1 points.

COACHES' CORNER:
Littell White - Emmanuel
After serving as the lead assistant for three seasons, Coach White has enjoyed a productive first campaign at the helm of the program posting 15 wins including 10 in GNAC play to earn his first postseason berth as a collegiate Head Coach. Back in 2019, he was the lead assistant for EC on the D3Hoops Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Saints to an 18-8 mark.

Shawn Conrad  – Anna Maria
In 15 seasons at Anna Maria, Coach Conrad has recorded 170 victories while his entire career resume now boasts 339 wins over 26 seasons as a Head Coach. He led the AMCats to a pair of regular-season conference titles in 2011 and 2013 and qualified for ECAC tournament play five times.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:
On Tuesday, February 15, the Saints led 30-24 at halftime over Anna Maria before the offensive wheels fell off in the second half as the AMCats held Emmanuel to just 16 second half points to come back and win, 56-46 and secure the first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Armstead led all scorers with 20 points while Grenon dropped 14 in the home victory. Pope posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) led the Saints with 15 points.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
In 20 career meetings, the AMCats are now 13-7 all-time against Emmanuel including 2-0 this season. The squads are 6-6 against each other since 2015 as AMC dominated the series early on going 7-1 over the first eight games.

The two teams have met three times in the GNAC tournament with Emmanuel owning the slight 2-1 edge. AMC took the first playoff decision back in the 2013 Quarterfinals, 85-76 in Paxton. Emmanuel answered with a 76-73 Quarterfinal win in Paxton during the 2015 season and followed it up the next season with a 91-89 win in the Quarterfinals in 2016.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:
The Saints are back in the tourney field for the third straight campaign and for the program's 16^th trip to the GNAC postseason while the Bulldogs make their first appearance in their first full season of competition in the league. 

Emmanuel owns an 11-15 overall record in GNAC tournament play and has never won the GNAC title. The Saints appeared in the GNAC Championship in 2007 and 2009 but fell to Rivier in '07 (59-57) and to Saint Joseph's (ME) in '09 (74-72, OT).

Anna Maria makes its ninth trip to the GNAC tournament since joining the league in 2011-12 and carries a 5-8 GNAC tournament record into the 2022 action. The AMCats are 3-4 all-time in the GNAC Quarterfinals including a 1-2 mark against EC.

TICKETS
For ticketing information and pricing, please contact the Anna Maria College Athletic Department directly. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door for all that meet Anna Maria College's spectator policy.

COVERAGE
Wedneday's GNAC Quarterfinal game will be streamed live on the web. To tune into the live action, click on one of the links below:

LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS

GNAC TOURNEY SCHEDULE
First Round - Tuesday, February 22
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine at #8 JWU - 7PM – 89-81, SJM
#12 Dean at #5 Emmanuel - 7PM – 99-69, EMM
#11 Rivier at #6 Norwich - 7PM – 65-63, NOR
#10 Colby-Sawyer at #7 Regis - 7PM – 66-59, REG

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 23
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine at #1 Saint Joseph CT - 7PM
#5 Emmanuel at #4 Anna Maria - 7PM
#6 Norwich at #3 Lasell - 7PM
#7 Regis at #2 Albertus Magnus - 7:30 PM 

Semifinals - Friday, February 25
1/8v9 winner vs 4/5v12 winner
3/6v11 winner vs 2/7v10 winner 

Championship - Sunday, February 27
final at highest remaining seed