Men's Basketball Falls to Anna Maria, 98-85, in Cave Classic Consolation

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Anna Maria College men's basketball team posted a 98-85 victory over host Bridgewater State University in the consolation game of the 2021 BSU Cave Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The AMCATS improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Bears fall to 0-6.

Sophomore forward Gabe Armstead (Dallas, Ga.) scored a game-high 22 points on 10 of 18 shooting and added eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots to lead the way for Anna Maria. Senior guard Ralph Grasso Jr. (Marlborough, Mass.) checked in with 20 points and three boards for the AMCATS, while senior guard Kennedy Minix-Rogers (Smyrna, Ga.) tallied 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Minix-Rogers earned All-Tournament honors for Anna Maria as he averaged 16 points, five rebounds, nine assists and three steals in the two-day tournament.

Senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 21 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Graduate guard Jordan Wetterlind (Twig, Minn.) added 14 points and three rebounds for the Bears, while freshman center Camden Dunbury (Pocasset, Mass.) notched 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Dunbury represented Bridgewater State on the All-Tournament Team as he averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the Bears' two tournament games.

Anna Maria led 53-46 following an opening 20 minutes which featured six ties and 12 lead changes. The AMCATS forced 18 turnovers in the opening stanza and held a 19-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Armstead led all players with 12 first-half points, while Grasso Jr. tallied 11 points and Minix-Rogers added ten. Wetterlind paced Bridgewater State with ten points.

A 10-3 AMCAT run to open the second half made it a double-digit advantage (63-49). Minix-Rogers started and ended the run with a pair of jumpers. Trailing 71-60 later in the period, a three-pointer by Pettway and a Quinton Champagne (Wrentham, Mass.) layup pulled the Bears to within six (71-65) with 13 minutes left to play. Anna Maria answered with a 10-4 spurt, highlighted by a jumper and three-pointer by Grasso Jr.,  to pull ahead, 81-69, with 7:39 showing on the scoreboard. Bridgewater made one final push as a free throw by sophomore forward Andrew McKinney (Norfolk, Mass.), a Dunbury layup and two free throws from Wetterlind cut the deficit to 81-74 as the clock ticked under seven minutes. An 8-1 Anna Maria run jumpstarted by a Ritchie Etienne (Lawrence, Mass.) trifecta extended the lead to 89-75 and the AMCATS maintained the double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

The AMCATS shot 49% (39-80) from the floor for the game, 26% (5-19) from behind the arc and 71% (15-21) at the free throw line.

Bridgewater State had its best shooting game of the season as the Bears shot 50% (29-58) from the floor and 37% (7-19) from three-point range. The Bears also finished 20-for-29 (69%) at the charity stripe.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday night. The Bears travel to Rhode Island College for a 7:30 game with the Anchormen, while the AMCATS take on the Cougars of Clark University at six o'clock.