Men's Basketball Falls Short Against the Amcats
Framingham, MA - For the second game in a row, the Framingham State College men's basketball team's second half comeback fell just short as the visiting Amcats of Anna Maria College held on for an 81-78 road win at Framingham's Athletic & Recreation Center. With the win, the Amcats even their record at 4-4, while the Rams have lost their fourth game in a row and are now 3-5 on the season.
The lead changed hands five times and neither team led by more than six points in the first half as Anna Maria held a slim 42-41 lead at the half. Both teams shot extremely well from the floor in the opening frame. The Rams were 14 of 30 (46.7%) from the floor including 5 of 11 from behind the arc, while the Amcats were 14 of 32 (43.8%) including 6 of 10 from behind the arc. Freshman Michael Hines (Boston, MA) led the Rams with 15 first half points, while fellow freshman Ryan Brown (Worcester, MA) led the Amcats with 14 first half points.
The second half mirrored the first half with the lead changing hands eight times and the largest leading coming with 5:23 left to play in the game as the Amcats led by seven on a three pointer by senior Quincy Nunnally (Westboro, MA). The Rams would battle back with a 7-0 run and tie the game up at 74-74 on a monster dunk by senior center Rob Scarpato (Hopkinton, MA) with 4:40 remaining. After an Anna Maria timeout, freshman guard Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, MA), who finished with 14 points, drained a huge three to give the Amcats the lead back at 77-74.
The Rams would cut the deficit to one with just under two minutes to play as Scarpato, who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, sank two clutch free throws. Pinsonault missed a three on the Amcats next possession and Scarpato corralled the rebound and started the fast break which was capped by a Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, MA) lay up with just over a minute remaining to give the Rams the lead at 78-77.
The Amcats would answer with a jumper of their own from James Daigneault (Worcester, MA) to take a one point lead. Daigneault finished the night with a team-high 18 points and 11 boards. After a timeout, the Rams turned the ball over and were forced to foul. Freshman Junior DeLaHoz (Lawrence, MA) drained both free throws to give the Amcats the 81-78 lead with 16.7 seconds remaining. The Rams sharpshooting guard Bill Carey (Abington, MA) had two clean attempts at threes but was unable to connect as the buzzer sounded.
Almodovar and Hines finished with a game-high 19 points apiece for the Rams. Almodovar also grabbed 10 boards. Brown finished with 17 points for the Amcats including 4 of 7 from behind the arc, while Pinsonault chipped in 14 points.
The Rams return to action this Saturday as they travel to Eastern Nazarene for a 3 p.m. game, while the Amcats square off against Keystone College at Green Mountain.