Anna Maria Battles Past Men's Basketball 78-71

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team rallied from behind to tie the game midway through the second half, but Anna Maria College used a late run to pull away and secure a 78-71 victory over the Rams in non-conference action this evening at the Athletic Center.

THE BASICS:

- Scores:   Anna Maria 78, Framingham State 71

- Records: Framingham State (1-10), Anna Maria (2-7)

- Location:  Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Amcats were paced by a double-double effort from senior Mike Rapoza.  Rapoza scored a team-best 20 points and hauled in 26 rebounds including 14 on the offensive glass.
• Senior Bobby Perette added 16 points, four rebounds a steal and a block for the Amcats, while Kennedy Minix-Rogers chipped in with 11 points and five assists.
• The Rams were paced on the offensive end by a double-double from junior Cameren McCloud-Thomas (Springfield, Mass.).  McCloud-Thomas scored 20 points on 9-of-14 from the floor and added 14 rebounds.
• Junior Dominique Jenkins-Maxwell (Boston, Mass.) poured in 14 points off the bench as he connected on 5-of-7 from the floor, while sophomore Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.) added 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and six assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Rams led 8-7 after a layup by McCloud-Thomas just under four minutes in to the game.
• The Amcats responded with a 15-2 run over the next four minutes taking a 22-10 lead.  Sophomore Demario Scarpegnato started the run with a three point play and freshman Wallace Reed capped the run with a layup.
• The two teams would trade baskets the remainder of the first half until McCloud-Thomas jumper cut the gap to nine, 41-32, just before the half.
• The Rams opened the second half with a 10-2 run over the first four minutes cutting the gap to one, 43-42.
• Anna Maria quickly pushed the lead back to five before the Rams came back and tied the game at 59-59 on a Jenkins-Maxwell free throw with 7:48 on the clock.
• After the two teams traded hoops, Anna Maria scored six straight taking a 67-61 lead with 6:21 remaining.
• Anna Maria extended the lead to nine, 72-63, on a Minix-Rogers jumper with 4:09 on the clock, but the Rams closed the gap to six on multiple occasions including on a Zaire Peart (Worcester, Mass.) layup with 55 seconds on the clock.  That was as close as the Rams would get as Anna Maria sank two free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

UP NEXT:                   

The Rams are back in action on January 4^th when they host WPI for a non-conference game at 1 p.m., while the Amcats face Mitchell on Friday at 6 p.m.