Men's Hoops Falls in 4 OT Thriller at Anna Maria

Paxton, Mass. (01/08/2013) –  The Lasell College men's basketball team dropped a four overtime thriller at Anna Maria College when AMCats freshman Patrick Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) hit a game winning three from the right corner at the buzzer to give the hosts a 96-93 Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory. Anna Maria improved to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in GNAC play, while Lasell dropped to 1-11 on the year and 0-5 in the league.

Lasell's backcourt of Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) and Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) paced the Lasers attack. Ganesh finished with a team high 27 points, while passing out nine assists and grabbing nine rebounds while Ortiz contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Rob Roy (Dover, N.H.) chipped in 14 points, while junior Chris Canino (Hartford, Conn) added a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) poured in a career high 39 points on 13-of 26 shooting, collecting a game-high 11 rebounds and adding five assists and six blocks. Senior Javier Bristol (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in with 17 points, adding five rebounds and four steals while junior Joey Barillo (Dania Beach, Fla.) was also in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds.

The Lasers took their first lead of the game with less than a minute remaining in the first half as Ortiz hit a trey and a Frank Apisa (Branchburg, N.J.) jumper sandwiched around a Click basket gave Lasell a 32-31 edge at the half.

Click and Barillo helped lead the way as Anna Maria opened up a 12 point lead at 46-34 with 15:22 to play.  Junior forward Chris Canino helped the Lasers weather the storm, on his way to 7 points and 9 rebounds in the second half and when Ganesh hit a three pointer at 10:17 the Lasers had their first lead of the second half at 51-50.

Click went to the foul line with just under two seconds left in the game and the AMCATS down 67-66. Click's first attempt rattled out but his second hit nothing but net and the game headed into the first overtime locked at 67. 

Each team hit just one basket and a free throw in the first overtime sending the game to a second OT tied at 70.

In the second overtime, Lasell's Chris Canino and AMC's Click both notched a pair of free throws to even the game at 72. Anna Maria then went on an 8-2 run with baskets by Barillo and Bristol and four points by Brad Peterson to take an 80-74 lead with 1:30 left in the stanza. The Lasers reeled off a pair of free throws and a layup by Ortiz to cut the lead to 80-78 with just under a minute to play. With the lead 81-78 AMCATS, guard Angel Ortiz swished a three with :32 ticks on the clock to send the game to a third extra session knotted at 81.

Lasell would open the third overtime with a basket, courtesy of Mike Vallone for a quick 83-81 advantage. Anna Maria could only muster three free throws over the first two and a half minutes and trailed 85-84 before a jumper by Click at 1:37 gave AMC an 86-85 lead. Lasell's Ganesh answered with a quick push up the floor and a mid-range jumper for an 87-86 lead. Click stepped to the line again with a chance for the win but could only hit one-of-two to send the game to its fourth extra session tied at 87-87. 

A pair of Click free throws and a hoop gave AMC a 91-87 advantage with 2:35 to play. Lasell junior Rob Roy's shot from behind the arc cut the lead to 91-90 but the AMCATS answered with a basket by Hugh Daye to maintain the three point lead 93-90 with just under two minutes remaining.  Lasell countered with an Ortiz basket to make the game 93-92. After an AMCAT turnover and foul, Apisa hit one-of-two to tie the game at 93. The AMCATS pushed the ball up-court and Click found Bradanese in the corner for the game winner.

Anna Maria returns to action on Thursday night when they travel to Norwich University for a GNAC match-up against the Cadets, game time is slated for 7:00pm. Lasell will be back in action on Thursday January 10^th when they visit Emmanuel for a 7 p.m. contest.