PAXTON, Mass. - Senior Corey Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1.2 seconds on the clock to lead the Anna Maria College men's basketball team to a 105-104 overtime win against the Monks of Saint Joseph's College on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

The win marks the ninth-straight for the AMCATS, who improve to 11-7 overall and 10-2 in GNAC action, while the loss drops the Monks to 8-9 overall and 6-5 in league play.

Saint Joseph's senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) scored a game-high 37 points and became the 38th member of the Monks' 1,000-Point Club when he drilled his second basket of the day, a three-pointer at the 14:40 mark of the first half. Classmate Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine), who scored 19 on the afternoon, was credited with an assist on the historic play.

Overall, Simonds connected on seven of his 11 three-point attempts and was 13-19 from the floor in the loss. As a team, the Monks scored 15 baskets in 27 attempts from behind the arc. Junior Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.) netted 16 points while shooting 4-6 from downtown and sophomore Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) was 3-3 from long distance en route to scoring a career-high 13 points.

Anna Maria had six players score in double-digits, led by junior Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) with 23 points. Classmate Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) scored 22 points, followed by freshman Youssef Fodaile (Worcester, Mass.) with 19 points.

Senior Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.), Pryor, and junior Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) added 15, 14, and 11 points, respectively.

Neither team held a comfortable lead in a game that saw an incredible 31 lead changes and 17 ties. Neither team led by more than seven points at any point in the contest—the Monks had a seven-point edge at the 8:45 mark of the first half, while the AMCATS held that same advantage at the 15:39 mark of the second half.

The first half ended in a deadlocked 42-42 score. Both teams scored 53 points each in the second half, concluding regulation at 95-95 to force overtime. The five-minute overtime period alone saw three lead changes and three ties. The Monks too the first lead of overtime following a pair of free-throws by Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine), but Delorey answered with a jumper to tie it again.

The Monks strung together back-to-back scoring possessions to take a four-point lead with 2:37 still to play, but Bradanese hit both ends of a set of free-throws and McKissick hit a layup to tie the score at 101-101.

With 30 seconds left, senior Michael Gorman (Methuen, Mass.) drew a foul on the top of the key and hit the first of two free-throws to put the AMCATS up by one. With nine seconds on the clock, Simonds drained a three to give control back to Saint Joseph's.

It was Pryor's turn to shine from there, as he nearly turned the ball over in the paint but recollected, drove to the hoop, and drained the layup as he was fouled. Tied at 104-104, Pryor calmly hit the free-throw, and the AMCATS escaped with the 105-104 win, despite two inbounds chances for the Monks in the final 1.2 seconds.

The AMCATS hit 64.1 percent of their field goal attempts (41-64) on the day, while the Monks posted a 57.8 percent effort from the floor (37-64). Anna Maria held a 52-38 advantage in points-in-the-paint and a 15-9 edge in points off turnovers. The Monks held a 37-33 advantage in bench points. Anna Maria outrebounded Saint Joseph's 33-23.

Prior to this afternoon, Saint Joseph's had not reached the century mark in points since putting up 103 in a win over Mount Ida College on January 19th, 2008. The Monks have scored 100 or more points 196 times in the team's 44-year history. St. Joe's has won 192 of these games – the last time the Monks lost when reaching triple digits occurred in a 147-103 setback at the hands of Grinnell College on January 2nd, 2004.

Anna Maria returns to action on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. game against Emmanuel. Saint Joseph's hosts Rivier on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

THANKS IN LARGE PART TO ANNA MARIA COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.