Team Effort Lifts Men's Basketball Over Anna Maria, 95-82

THE BASICS 

Score: Anna Maria College, 82; Emmanuel College, 95
Records: Anna Maria College AMCats (6-12, 3-2 GNAC);
Emmanuel College Saints (15-3, 3-1 GNAC)
Location: Paxton, Mass. – Higgins Court
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2020

THE LEAD: Four starters netted double-figures including a game-high 29 points by senior guard Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) to power visiting Emmanuel College past Anna Maria College, 95-82, Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball action at Higgins Court.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Back-to-back triples gave AMC a 6-0 lead to open the action before a 6-0 flurry by EC evened the score at 6-6 on a layup by junior Zach Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) at the 16:24 marker.
• The squads traded hoops to a 13-12 EC lead before Emmanuel put together a 7-0 run capped by a steal and layup by Riddick to bump the lead to 20-12 with 13:04 to play in the first half.
• The AMCats answered with a 10-0 run of their own to regain a 22-20 lead after a layup by Sean Etienne (Lawrence, Mass.) forced EC to spend a timeout to regroup.
• The contest remained tight for the remainder of the opening stanza with both teams holding leads over the final eight minutes, ultimately with Emmanuel taking a 44-41 lead into halftime.
• Etienne led all scorers at the break with 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting from the field in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
• Anna Maria kept the game close early on in the second half, evening the score at 51-all with a three by Ralph Grasso Jr. (Marlborough, Mass.).
• With 15:49 to play in regulation, EC junior forward Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) broke a 53-53 tie with a layup that started an 11-0 EC run to give the visitors a 64-53 lead which they would never relinquish.
• EC led by as many as 23 down the stretch before settling for the 95-82 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Riddick's 29 points were a season-high as the senior finished the game going 10-for-18 from the field and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
• Fox posted his 11^th double-double of the year with 24 points and 12 rebounds, adding three blocks.
• Crisafulli also notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards while junior Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn.) scored 12 points, going 4-for-8 from long range.
• Bobby Perette (Marshfield, Mass.) paced the AMCats with a team-high 21 points while Etienne ended the night with 19 points after a big first half.
• AMCats senior Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) registered his nation-leading 17^th double-double of the year with 20 points and 19 rebounds and moves into first in the NCAA among D-III ballers averaging 15.8 rebounds per game through 17 contests.

UP NEXT

• Both teams return to action on Saturday, February 1 in more GNAC action as the AMCats play host to Colby-Sawyer College in a 1:00 PM tip while the Saints travel to Regis College for the second time this season for a 2:00 PM contest.