STANDISH, Maine – Anna Maria College (5-3, 2-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-4, 0-2 GNAC), 73-62, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

THE LEAD

The Monks held the lead for the better part of the first half and owned a 26-22 advantage after senior guard Davis Tucker (High Point, N.C.) made layups on consecutive SJC possessions with 3:50 before the break. The hosts' cushion was quickly negated however, as the visiting AMCATS netted four three-pointers to account for the majority of a 14-2 run, which lapsed the final three minutes of the opening frame and saw the visitors carry a 28-36 lead going into intermission.

Anna Maria proceeded to lead by as many as 18 points in the second stanza and managed to hold off several of the Monks' promising comeback efforts en route to picking up their second conference win of the season.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Junior guard John Crawley (Fitchburg, Mass.) netted a game-and-career-high 24 points while connecting on five of six shots from three-point distance
• Freshman guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) was 7-8 from the field with a career-high 18 points
• Tucker provided a spark off the bench with six points and three rebounds
• Freshman guard Ben Malloy (Standish, Maine) contributed six points and four rebounds

LEADERS – ANNA MARIA

• Senior guard Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) paced four AMCATS in double figures with 17 points off a 5-9 three-point shooting effort and added seven boards and four assists
• Junior guard David Jean-Louis (Miramar, Fla.) netted 14 points
• Graduate student Corey Pryor (Northbridge, Mass.) left the bench to score 12 points off a 5-8 shooting performance
• Senior forward Pedro Trindade (Billerica, Mass.) tallied 11 points and six caroms
• Senior forward Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's shot 41.2% (21-51) from the field, 30.4% (7-23) from three-point distance and 68.4% (13-19) from the free throw line. Anna Maria posted percentages of 46.6% (27-58), 38.5% (10-26) and 50% (9-18) from the floor, beyond the arc and the charity stripe in the victory.

The AMCATS held advantages in rebounding (40-30), assists (19-15) and points off turnovers (23-7) while both teams netted 24 points in the paint and the Monks owned a 20-19 edge in bench points on the afternoon.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 8-8 in the history of the series with Anna Maria College and has now lost three straight at the hands of the AMCATS, a losing string that began last season. Since joining the GNAC in 2011, Anna Maria owns an 8-2 record versus Saint Joseph's.

NEXT!

The Monks return to the court on Tuesday when the team travels to Newton, Massachusetts for a conference contest versus Mount Ida College. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 PM.

Anna Maria if off until Wednesday, December 30th when the AMCATS face Trinity College in the first of two games in the Trinity Holiday Invitational. The non-conference tilt begins at 5:00 PM.

#GOMONKS

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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 474-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.