December 8, 2011

PAXTON, Mass. – (12.08.11) Brad Peterson's (North Kingstown, RI) 20-point, seven rebound and three block effort paced the Anna Maria College men's basketball in a 72-69 victory over Mount Ida College in GNAC conference action Thursday night at the Fuller Activities Center. With the win Anna Maria improves to 2-3 (2-0 GNAC) while the Mustangs fall to 3-3 (0-2 GNAC).

In addition to Peterson's stellar day, Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) filled the stat-sheet with 17 point and a game-high eight rebounds and six assists.  Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) also played well, adding 13 points and seven boards.      

Keith Jones was potent for Mount Ida, as he added a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds and six steals.  Jeff McNair nearly missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds while Special Rhodes and Isiah Benjamin contributed with 10 points apiece. 

The AMCATS jumped out to a quick 20-4 lead.  The Mustangs put an end to the run and each team scored 17-points from that point forward as the score stood at 37-21 at intermission.  Peterson was the stand-out in the first-half, adding half-highs in points (12) and rebounds (6).

The teams traded buckets for most of the second-half, however, with just over five minutes remaining and Mustangs down by 14, Mount Ida went on a 16-5 run to cut the AMCAT lead to 67-64 with 1:29 remaining. 

After the last Mustang bucket, Brad Peterson was fouled on the inbound pass and hit both free-throws to push the score to 69-64 AMC.  Peterson hit another pair of free-throws after a missed jumper by Mount Ida, giving the AMCATS a 71-64 cushion with 45 seconds left.  Keith Jones took the visitor possession and hit an open lay-up to bring the lead back down to five.

Peterson was send back to the line for a third consecutive time on an inbound pass, however, he missed both free throws and Jeff McNair hit Isiah Benjamin for a lay-up.  Benjamin was fouled on the lay-up and covered the three-point play, slashing the lead to 71-69 with 20 seconds left. 

Click hit one-of-two from the line after an intentional foul and gave the Mustangs nine seconds on the clock to tie the three-point deficit.  Isian Benjamin's three-point attempt was off the mark as the AMCATS clinched the 72-69 victory.      

 Anna Maria returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Lasell for a 2pm tip-off.