STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (10-6, 5-2 GNAC) clipped Anna Maria College (4-11, 1-5 GNAC), 74-69, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Trailing 55-49 after Anna Maria sophomore forward Mike Rapoza (Charlton, Mass.) made a layup with 12:13 left in the second half, the Monks recorded a 16-2 run over the subsequent six minutes, as senior forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) hit a layup to cap the surge and lift his team to a 69-57 lead with 6:07 remaining.

The AMCATS fought back into contention with a late 12-3 run, as a Chris Contento (Marshfield, Mass.) nailed a three-pointer to make it a three-point (72-69) with 29 seconds left. On the visitors' following trip down the floor, St. Joe's freshman guard Tatsuaki Sakai (Ishikawa, Japan) drew a charge on a Liam Pickett (Oxford, Mass.), sending junior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) to the line, where he hit both freebies to account for the 74-69 final.

STAT OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's received 19 bench points and made 17 of 21 free throw attempts in the victory while Anna Maria netted just two bench points and went 10-12 from the charity stripe in a losing effort. The conference clash featured 10 tie scores and eight lead changes.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) scored 19 points off a 7-11 shooting performance
• Mileikis added 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists and was 7-7 from the FT line
• Richardson-Newton contributed 11 points, four boards, and three assists
• Junior forward Jae Johns (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points and five caroms in eight minutes
• Freshman guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) notched eight points, nine rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocked shots

LEADERS – ANNA MARIA:

• Rapoza registered his 13th double-double of the season with 23 assists and 15 rebounds
• Senior forward Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) posted 18 points with five boards, eight assists, and three steals
• Sophomore guard Bobby Perette (Marshfield, Mass.) contributed 14 points off a 5-8 shooting effort

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the result, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-9 all-time versus Anna Maria College and has now defeated the AMCATS in three-consecutive meetings.

NEXT:

Saint Joseph's travels to Newton, Massachusetts on Tuesday for a 7:00 PM GNAC game at Lasell College.

#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.