Men’s Basketball Drops 91-87 Decision Against Anna Maria

The men's basketball team dropped a 91-87 decision against Anna Maria in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest on the road on Thursday evening.

Johnson & Wales was led by senior All-American Lamonte Thomas (Providence, R.I.) with 38 points, four assists and three rebounds while fellow senior Mike Harris (Providence, R.I.) had 16 points and four boards.  Senior James Folk (Lawrence, Mass.) had 10 points and seven caroms while classmate Santino Cinotti (Rochester, N.Y.) was also in double-figures with 12 points off the bench for the Wildcats.

Anthony Click recorded a double-double in the win for Anna Maria with 27 points and 10 rebounds while Brad Peterson also had a double-double with 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the AMCats.  Corey Pryor rounded out the double-figure scorers with 22 points in the victory.  Anna Maris finished the game with a 39-27 rebounding advantage and shot an impressive 66.1% from the field.

The two teams traded baskets early with AMC holding a 22-21 advantage after a layup by Quantez Franklin midway through the first half.  JWU then went on an 11-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Cinotti to take the 32-24 lead with 5:43 left on the clock.  The Wildcats led 41-36 heading into the locker room at halftime.

Anna Maria battled back and knotted the game at 52-52 on a layup by Click with 13:22 left in regulation.  The AMCats used a 22-12 run over the next eight minutes for a 74-64 lead with just under six minutes left.  JWU responded, however and cut the lead to 83-82 on a three-pointer by Thomas with :46 seconds remaining.  It wouldn't be enough though as AMC hit six free throws in the final twelve seconds en route to the 91-87 victory.

With the loss Johnson & Wales is now 5-10 overall and 4-4 in league play while Anna Maria improves to 6-8 on the season and 5-3 in the GNAC.  The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, January 21^st when they host St. Joseph's of Maine for a GNAC contest at 3:00 p.m.