MEN'S HOOPS PREVAIL OVER ANNA MARIA 80-79 IN WILD FINISH

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's basketball team nearly squandered a 14 points second half lead only to hang on for an 80-79 victory over Anna Maria College Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints win their fourth straight and fifth consecutive GNAC tilt to improve to 8-15 overall and 8-8 in GNAC play while the loss dips the AMCats to 12-11 and 8-8 in conference.

Leading 78-64 with just over eight minutes to play, the Saints looked to have the game in hand before Anna Maria reeled off an 8-0 run capped by a three from senior guard Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) to cut the lead to 78-72 with 5:28 left on the clock.

A layup by EC rookie Will Jessup (Westwood, Mass.) ended the run to give Emmanuel an 80-72 advantage with 4:27 to play before the AMCats reeled off another 7-0 spurt to make it a one-point game following an old-fashion three point play by senior forward Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) with 1:39 remaining to make it 80-79.

On the next offensive possession, the Saints got three looks at the hoop but came up empty, giving the AMCats a chance to take the lead with under 40 seconds to play but a turnover with 33 tics left gave the ball back to the hosts with a one point cushion.

The AMCats opted to not foul and it paid off as the visitors forced an Emmanuel turnover with 20 seconds left to play to give them what could be the final possession of the game. Anna Maria brought the ball up and with 10 seconds to play, McKissick caught a pass in the low post, spinning around for a layup opportunity. The ball circled around the rim twice before missing, allowing Emmanuel senior John Clay (Westport, Mass.) to grab the rebound with seven seconds on the clock.

After a pair of AMCat fouls to put the Saints in the bonus, Clay missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with three seconds left but junior guard Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) came up with a huge offensive rebound for Emmanuel. Smith was immediately fouled and he too would miss the front end of the one-and-one, this time with AMC senior guard Pat Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) coming up the rebound and immediately calling a timeout.

After the timeout with 1.1 seconds to play, the AMCats attempted a long distance hail mary pass but the ball hit the ceiling and was ruled out of bounds giving Emmanuel possession under their own offensive basket.

Only needing to inbound the ball to seal the win, the Saints had a mishap of their own under their hoop as they were whistled for a traveling violation by the inbounding player, who moved his feet before the ball was inbounded, turning the ball back over to the AMCats with 1.1 seconds still on the clock.

On their second attempt, the AMCats hurled the long pass to their own offensive side and McKissick was able to catch and shoot a fade away jumper from about the free throw line. The shot, which would have counted, hit the front rim to give Emmanuel their fifth GNAC victory in a row.

An up-tempo first half featuring three ties and seven lead changes ended with the AMCats taking a 48-47 lead into halftime.

Following a three by AMC senior guard Pat Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) to put the visitors on top, 16-15 with 12:34 to play, Emmanuel put together a 14-2 run fueled by five points from junior center Matt Raine (Miami, Fla.) to give EC their largest lead of the half at 29-18 with 8:31 remaining.

Anna Maria answered with a 21-10 flurry to tie the game at 39-39 and during the spurt, Bradanese hit another three and in doing so, scored his 1,000^th career point.

Bradanese led all scorers with 22 points while also recording seven assists. Delorey added 18 points while McKissick registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard LK Metz (West Yarmouth, Mass.) was also in double-digits with 14 points off the bench.

The Saints got a balanced offensive effort as Raine led the way with 15 points while sophomore Colin Cordero (Bolton, Mass.) added 13 points and five assists. Clay recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Alex Minetti (Wakefield, R.I.) also finished with 10 points.

The Saints return to action on Tuesday, February 16 when they travel to Newton, Mass. to take on Lasell College at 7:00 PM. Anna Maria is back the same night when they play host to Rivier University at 8:00 PM.