Men's Basketball Drops Wednesday GNAC Game at Anna Maria, 75-67

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Anna Maria 75 – Emmanuel 67

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (16-8, 12-4 GNAC)
Anna Maria College AMCATS (7-17, 6-10 GNAC)

Location: Paxton, Mass. – Fuller Center

Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023

THE LEAD – The Anna Maria AMCATS closed Wednesday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference game with a 24-10 run in the last 8:13, keeping their hopes of a playoff position alive with a 75-67 victory over the Emmanuel Saints on AMCs Senior Night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Trailing the majority of the first half and by eight points at the break, the Saints quickly erased the deficit early in the second half, starting the frame on a 16-4 spurt, taking their first lead of the night at 38-36 in Wednesday's penultimate game of the regular season. The game stayed within one possession for much of the early portions of the second half until a 12-7 mini-run opened up ECs largest lead of the night at 57-51 with 8:13 to go.
• The AMCATS would not have their Senior Night spoiled as they answered with a game-deciding run of 16-6 over the span of 4:14, putting the lead back in their control, 67-63, with 3:59 remaining. The Saints could never overtake the AMCATS in the final minutes, with eight of the last 10 points of the game belonging to AMC, giving them a 75-67 victory. In total, the AMC 16-6 run would be part of a larger, game-ending spree of 24-10 in the last 8:13, leading Anna Maria to the win.
• After a back-and-forth opening six minutes had the Saints and AMCATS tied, Anna Maria would take control of the first half with a 7-0 run over a 4:05 span, taking a 15-8 edge and not surrendering the lead for the rest of the half.
• EC cut the deficit to as low as three with a 5-0 run with 5:58 remaining, but AMC would answer back with six straight points, taking their largest lead of the half at nine. The AMCATS lead held over the final five minutes, as a pair of free throws by graduate Kennedy Minix-Rogers (Smyrna, Ga.) ended the scoring in the first half with Anna Maria leading 32-24.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Minix-Rogers finished the night with 15 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds, shooting 6-of-8 from the field in 35 minutes.
• Junior Gabe Armstead (Dallas, Ga.) matched the 15 points by Minix-Rogers while shooting 7-for-11 on the night.
• Graduate Hayden Braga (Foster, R.I.) finished with 14 points while sophomore Trevian Grenon (Sutton, Mass.) chipped in with 10.
• Saints junior Donte Pope (Middletown, R.I.) led all players with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-12 from the field.
• Junior Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) added 12 points off the Saints bench while senior Ricky Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) ended with 11 points in 28 minutes, including 3-of-6 shooting from three-point distance.

UP NEXT

• The Saints finish their regular season with a Saturday, Feb. 18 meeting at Rivier, set for 3:00 p.m.
• The AMCATS complete their regular season on Feb. 18, traveling to Norwich for a 3:00 p.m. tip.