PAXTON, Mass. – The New England College men's basketball team endured a loss to the AMCATS of Anna Maria College 86-66 on Saturday at the Fuller Activities Center in Paxton, Massachusetts.
 
THE BASICS
Score: New England College 66, Anna Maria College 0 86
Records: Pilgrims 2-9, 0-1 GNAC | AMCATS 4-8, 1-0 GNAC

TURNING POINTS

• The first half was a competitive outing for both sides as they showed no signs of giving in. At 12:43 graduate guard Nick Gomeau (Enfield, Conn.) came crashing down lane for the layup then another one was scored by freshman guard Jalen Francis (Naugatuck, Conn.) at 11:55 that helped give the team a three point lead, 16-13. The AMCATS were not phased gathering an 8-0 run that bestowed them with the lead at 9:43, 21-16. NEC Gomeau converted on a jump shot that would be shortly followed up by a three-pointer by junior guard Kyle Dzarnowski (Boca Raton, Fla.) bringing NEC to within one, 26-25 at 5:26. From there on scoring would be hard to come by for the 'Grims as they only managed score three points compared to AMC who collected 13 within the time remaining concluding the half with a eight point lead for the AMCATS, 39-31.
• Things remained in favor of the AMCATS in the second half, never taking their foot off of the gas continuing to execute offensively and defensively keeping the 'Grims to scoring 35 points while AMC recorded 47. The momentum of NEC came about late in the half executing a 10-0 run with the last point scored of that run left the team with 32 seconds. The last minute run was unable to make a difference in the outcome as the AMCATS were the victors on the day over NEC, 86-66.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• NEC Gomeau had the team-high in scoring, finishing with 14 points, two rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
• NEC senior guard Theisen Lee (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed up with an outing of 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
• AMC junior guard Ray Carter (East Longmeadow, Mass.) shined the brightest on the floor today recording 20 points, one rebound, one assist, and a steal. Four more AMCATS would manage to compile double digit scoring numbers in senior forward Sean Zabari (Miami, Fla.), senior forward Gabriel Armstrong (Dallas, GA), senior forward Jayden Dickerson (Springfield, Mass.), and sophomore forward Yuki Efosa (Lawrence, Mass.).
• Second chance points proved to be helpful for the 'Grims gathering 13 points compared to AMC who had seven points.
• NEC made their presence known inside the paint by outscoring the AMCATS, 34-30.
• The bench of NEC played well in the second half of the action, scoring 20 points. By the conclusion of the game the 'Grims would tie with AMC in bench points, 22-22.

UP NEXT

• Up next for NEC, the team will be at home on Tuesday, January 7^th at 7:00 PM as they'll be hosting the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph from Bridges Gym.
• AMC's next game will be on Tuesday, January 7^th at 3:00 PM on the road at Norwich University.

 
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