PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Berthiaume '24

PAXTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (10-9, 6-2 GNAC) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Anna Maria College (7-13, 2-7 GNAC), 80-69, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's held a 19-10 lead after senior guard Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) hit a three-pointer with 11:06 left in the first half, but Anna Maria fought back with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 23-23 after sophomore forward Jopaul Mckrieth made a layup at the 7:09 mark.

The conference rivals swapped the lead three times in the following five minutes before the AMCATS closed out the opening half with a 14-4 surge en route to taking a 43-33 cushion into intermission.

Anna Maria maintained a 10-point lead for the first five minutes of the second stanza, but Saint Joseph's chipped away at the deficit and proceeded to claim a 60-59 lead after junior guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) drilled three trifectas in a matter of 90 seconds and Yorke connected from deep with 9:27 remaining.

The AMCATS briefly regained the lead, as Mckrieth made a layup on the ensuing Anna Maria possession, but Llopiz drilled yet another three-pointer to put his team on top for good, as it played out.

The game was a two-possession affair until grad student Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) made a layup to lift the visitors to a 76-68 cushion with 1:55 left. The Monks secured the victory after going 4-for-4 from the FT line while holding the AMCATS to just one point in the closing minutes.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks' second-half resurgence featured a 60.7% (17-28) shooting performance from the floor, including a 53.8% (7-13) effort from three-point distance…The AMCATS shot 37.9% (11-29) from the field, 16.7% (1-6) from deep, and just 27.3% (3-11) from the free throw line in the latter period.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Llopiz led the Monks with 17 points off a 5-for-10 three-point shooting performance in just 19 minutes; 14 of his points came in the second half
• Sophomore guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored 13 points with four rebounds and three steals
• Yorke added 12 points, four boards, and three assists off the bench
• Abbott contributed 10 points, five caroms, and four assists
• Junior guard Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) chipped in with eight points, six boards, and three assists
• Freshman guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) tallied seven points and seven rebounds

LEADERS – ANNA MARIA:

• Mckrieth led all players with 30 points and pulled down seven rebounds with three blocks
• Jayden Dickerson came off the bench to score 17 points with seven boards
• Gabe Armstead chipped in with 17 points and six caroms

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 13-14 in the history of Anna Maria College – a team that defeated the Monks by a 74-72 mark in the last meeting, which took place in Paxton on February 8th, 2023.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Rivier University on Tuesday in a GNAC contest set to start at 5:00 PM.

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