PAXTON, Mass. - Anna Maria College edged Curry College, 73-68, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) matchup at the Fuller Activities Center on Thursday night. The win improves the AMCATS to 7-11 overall and 2-4 in the TCCC, while the Colonels fall to 7-10 on the season, and 4-2 in the conference.
Led by junior Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, Mass.), the AMCATS stormed out of the gates on an 11-2 run and never looked back, taking a 45-32 lead into the half. The difference-maker in the half was points off turnovers, as Anna Maria held a 17-8 advantage in the category.
Pinsonault had an impressive half, leading all scorers with 17 points, while adding three assists and two blocks. Pinsonault also connected on five three-pointers, while shooting 6-7 from the field. Junior De La Hoz (Lawrence, Mass.) was also instrumental in the half, filling the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds and six assists.
Rodney Bennett (Mattapan, Mass.) led all Curry scorers with nine points, while Mark Mastrullo (Billerica, Mass.) also played well, adding seven points and four assists.
Anna Maria pushed their lead to 15 early in the second half, but Curry then began to chip away at the AMCATS’ lead. The Colonels used a 15-3 run with seven and a half minutes remaining to take their first lead of the game.
With 1:24 left in the half, Anna Maria held a 68-63 advantage before Jarrell Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) made a spectacular up and under move, eluding two defenders to score a tough lay-up and cut the lead to three.
On the ensuing play, Jackson stole the ball in the backcourt, and got fouled, hitting both the lay-up and the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 68-68.
With 35 seconds left, De La Hoz took a Pinsonault pass and drained a deep contested three-pointer to put the AMCATS back on top.
With 19 seconds remaining, Curry missed a three-pointer and Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) grabbed the rebound for AMC and was fouled, sending him to the line with 14 seconds left. Bristol made the first, but missed the second attempt. Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) grabbed the offensive rebound for the AMCATS, sealing the 73-68 victory for Anna Maria.
Jackson led all scorers with 15 points in the second-half for the visitors, filling the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Bennett was also crucial in helping erase the first half deficit, by adding seven points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Bennett recorded a double-double in the contest, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
De La Hoz led Anna Maria with 11 points in the second half, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Pinsonault led all scorers with 21 points, adding five assists, four steals, and two blocks for the AMCATS, while Anthony Click (10 points, five rebounds) and Derek Johnson (Worcester, Mass.) (eight points, 11 rebounds) also made huge contributions in the win.
The Colonels will take to the court again on Saturday when they host Nichols in a TCCC matchup starting at 3:00 pm. The AMCATS will be back in action on Saturday when they continue TCCC play, hosting Eastern Nazarene at 3:00 pm.
