Strong Second Half Propels Men's Hoops Past Anna Maria, 85-63, Wednesday Night

PAXTON, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team utilized a strong second half to take down Anna Maria College (AMC), 85-63, during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Wednesday night inside the Fuller Activities Center in Paxton, Mass. The Blue Jays entered the halftime break with a two-point advantage and outscored the AMCATS 55-33, in the second half. With the result, the Blue Jays improve to 10-5 on the season and 4-0 in GNAC play while the AMCATS move to 5-10 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ opened the game on an 8-2 run, as junior forward Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany), freshman forward Adelphe Cisse (Pointe-Noire, Congo) and senior guard Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) all scored points to give the Blue Jays the edge at the 15:49 mark.
• Cummings would then knock down his second triple of the night, extending the gap to 11-2 and forcing an AMC timeout at the 14:59 mark.
• USJ continued to dominate, utilizing a 9-2 stretch, capped off by a layup from junior wing Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.) to increase the gap to 20-4 and make the AMCATS call a timeout with 11:58 left in the half.
• AMC would respond with an 8-2 scoring run, closing the gap to 10, 25-15, and causing USJ to call a timeout with 7:37 on the clock.
• The hosts continued to battle back, utilizing a 9-2 stretch to cut the deficit to two, 32-30, with 58 seconds left in the half. The score would hold entering the halftime break.
• USJ wasted little time increasing its lead back to double digits, opening the second half on a 10-2 run, featuring back-to-back three pointers by Altenor, to hold a 42-32 lead at the 18:08 mark.
• AMC would respond with an old-fashioned three-point play, but Feldrappe scored five unanswered points to increase the edge to 12, 47-35, with 16:56 on the clock.
• USJ though began to break open the deficit, utilizing a 12-2 run, capped off by a triple from Cummings, to increase the lead to 23, 66-43, with 11:01 left to play.
• The Blue Jays would control the rest of the half as the AMCATS would only close the deficit to as little as 17, as the Blue Jays secured the victory, 85-63.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Cummings finished with a game-high 22 points.
• Altenor, Feldrappe and Cisse joined him in double figures, scoring 18, 15 and 15 points, respectively.
• Altenor narrowly missed out on a double-double, hauling in a team-high nine rebounds, while dishing out a team-high five assists.
• USJ outshot AMC, 46.5 percent (33-of-71) to 43.6 percent (24-of-55).
• The AMCATS and Blue Jays were deadlocked in rebounds, 37-37.
• USJ dominated inside, scoring 32 points inside the paint, compared to AMC's 20.
• Turnovers proved costly for the AMCATS, as the Blue Jays scored 28 points off 19 AMC miscues.
• USJ led wire-to-wire, as the game featured no ties or lead changes.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to West Hartford on Saturday, January 18, hosting Rivier University for a GNAC matchup. Tipoff against the Raiders inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium is set for 3:00 p.m.

Follow USJ Athletics
For the latest on University of Saint Joseph athletics, follow the Blue Jays on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Fans can also download the USJ Front Row Mobile App and subscribe to our Newsletter and Text Alerts. #FearTheFlock #GoBlueJays