February 4, 2012

PAXTON, MA – Anna Maria College (9-12, 7-7 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (14-6, 10-4 GNAC) for the second time in less than a week with a 61-54 triumph over the Monks in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Chris Petzy (Kensington, N.H.) netted a game-high 16 points in the losing effort.

St. Joe's shot well enough to win with respectable percentages from the floor (45%), three-point range (46.7%) and the free throw line (78.6%), but the Monks' inability to take care of the basketball offset the team's shooting effort as the AMCATS netted 23 points off 18 SJC turnovers in the conference contest. Anna Maria also out-rebounded St. Joe's by a 33-22 margin and parlayed 15 offensive caroms into a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points on the afternoon.

Petzy opened the game with a jumper and dropped a three-pointer 2:06 into play to lift his team to a 5-2 advantage, but Anna Maria senior guard Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) capped a 10-6 run with a layup at the 10:59 mark that saw the hosts take a 12-11 edge. The AMCATS went on to hold the lead for the remainder of the contest.

St. Joe's rattled off a 7-2 run, closed out by a Julio Vazquez (Waterbury, Conn.) trey at the 1:37 mark, to end the half and trailed 26-20 heading into intermission.

The Monks shot 41.2% from the floor, 50% from three-point range, and 50% from the free throw line in the first half while the AMCATS shot 33.3% from the field, 28.6% from downtown, and 80% from the charity stripe in the opening period.

AMCATS freshman guard Corey Pryor (Northbridge, Mass.) led all first-half scorers with nine points while senior guard Zach O'Brien (Schenectady, N.Y.) paced the Monks with seven points in the first 20 minutes of play.

Anna Maria held a game-high 17-point lead (47-30) when sophomore forward Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.) hit a jumper with 7:17 remaining. The Monks went on to record a 14-4 run and trailed 51-44 after Petzy closed the outbreak with a layup at the 2:45 mark. After a timeout, the AMCATS extended their lead to 55-44 with a traditional three-point play from Click and a freebie from Hugh Daye (Worcester, Mass.).

St. Joe's quickly countered with layups from senior forward Tom Ray (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and sophomore forward Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) and trailed 55-48 with 53 seconds left. The Monks would cut their deficit to six when sophomore guard Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) drained two free throws 25 seconds later, but the hosts' 6-8 performance from the charity stripe in the final minute effectively sealed the victory for the AMCATS.

For the Monks, O'Brien tallied 13 points and five assists and Jobin notched the first double-double of his NCAA career with 11 points and a personal-high 10 boards in the loss.

For the AMCATS, Click registered 14 points, five caroms, three assists and three steals, senior forward Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, R.I.) added 11 points, and Franklin hauled in 11 caroms on the afternoon.

Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 45% (18-40) from the field, 46.7% (7-15) from three-point distance, and 78.6% (11-14) from the FT line. Anna Maria shot 42.3% (22-52) from the floor, 28.6% (2-7) from downtown, and 71.4% (15-21) from the charity stripe in the victory.

With the loss Saint Joseph's falls to 6-2 in the series with Anna Maria College, a team that defeated the Royal Blue by a 53-50 margin at the Alfond Center on Monday night. Prior to this afternoon, St. Joe's had not suffered two losses at the hands of a conference opponent in the same regular season since Albertus Magnus defeated the Monks twice during the 2009-10 campaign.

St. Joe's plays at Norwich University on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM while Anna Maria hosts Rivier College on the same night at 7:30 PM.

 

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.