CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The Wheelock College men's basketball team played a back-and-forth first half with Anna Maria College on Thursday before falling shy, 81-72, at Pine Manor College's Brunelli Court. Now 4-7, the Wildcats have suffered each of their past five losses by nine points or less. The AMCATS improved to 6-6 on the season, as senior Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, MA/Marlboro) notched his 1,000th career point.
Senior Daniel Main (Hopedale, MA/Hopedale) netted a game-high 22 points for Wheelock, which played without junior leading scorer Eric Rice (Woburn, MA/Woburn). Main shot 7-for-8 on free-throw tries while added five rebounds and three assists and now needs 26 points to become the second Wildcat with 1,000 in a career.
Junior Max Kaim (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Cypress Bay) tallied 10 points and five boards, sophomore Bashir Hudson (Jamaica Plain, MA/Weston) turned in eight points and six rebounds, and junior Kyle Pierce (Burlington, MA/Burlington) had seven points. Off the bench, senior Patsy DiNuzzo (Beaver, PA/Beaver) and sophomore Daniel Higgins (Wakefield, MA/Austin Prep) tallied eight and six points, respectively. Each knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Wheelock only committed 10 turnovers in the game to Anna Maria's 17, but the Wildcats assisted just eight of their 27 baskets. The AMCATS piled up 21 helpers on 29 hoops, as they shot 29-of-58 overall from the floor, including 11-for-25 from three-point range. Sophomore Anthony Click (Springfield, MA/SABIS International Charter School) led the visitors with 21 points and 11 rebounds, junior Brad Peterson (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) had 15 points and 11 boards, Pinsonault totaled 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while senior Junior De La Hoz (Lawrence, MA/Central Catholic) added 14 points and six helpers. De La Hoz and Pinsonault each hit four threes, as Pinsonault entered the game needing two points to reach his milestone.
The opening stanza saw the teams play through seven lead changes and six ties, as neither team led by more than four points until 4:35 remained. Main's opening three was met by a Pinsonault trey at 19:02, which pushed him past 1,000 points, and the AMCATS eventually twice led by four prior to Higgins' three-pointer putting the hosts back ahead, 15-14, at 14:07. Anna Maria again twice crept back in front by four before a hoop from Wildcat sophomore Adam Russo (Arlington, MA/Arlington) capped a 6-0 run that made it 29-27 at 6:28 in favor of the hosts. From there, the AMCATS scored nine straight points in a 1:30 span, eventually leading by as many as nine before holding a 44-38 edge at the half.
Click and Peterson combined to score all of the points during a period-opening 7-0 run for Anna Maria, as a Peterson lay-up at 17:55 produced a 51-38 advantage. The AMCATS' lead inflated to as many as 18 points, at 73-55 with 7:17 to go, before the Wildcats staged a comeback to within eight points. Five different players scored during a 12-3 jaunt that made it 76-67 on a Kaim three-point play at 2:57, and another Kaim basket and foul shot with fewer than 40 seconds left made it 80-72. A Wheelock three-point try to cut its deficit to six with less than 20 ticks to go was off, and the AMCATS ran out the clock.
Wheelock returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play on Saturday against Newbury College at 3:30 p.m., as it completes a run of three home games in five days.