Men’s Basketball Extends Win Streak to Six, Downs Anna Maria, 75-65

PAXTON, Mass. – The Suffolk men's basketball team won its sixth straight outing as the Rams' held off Anna Maria's comeback to take down the AMCATs, 75-65, at Fuller Gym Thursday night.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 75 | Anna Maria 65
RECORDS: Suffolk (11-5, 2-0 GNAC) | Anna Maria (5-12, 1-3 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening action was truly made up of runs. Anna Maria started things off with back-to-back buckets before Suffolk rattled off 11 unanswered points that put the visitors ahead 11-4. Over the spurt, Steven DiPrizio and Alex Jacovides scored four points apiece.  

From there the AMCATs took over once again. The Rams kept the hosts scoreless for a 4:05 minute span, but once Anna Maria got going it scored six straight points to cut Suffolk's edge to two, 11-10, with just under 13 minutes left in the first frame.  

The game of runs carried on as Connor Byrne sandwiched layups around a triple from Michael Hagopian, that stretched Suffolk's lead back to eight.   

See-saw action followed as hoops were traded on either end. The Rams slowly built a double-digit cushion as Cameron Powers knocked down a trey from the right baseline corner with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. 

Jim Djema and DiPrizio hit three's on consecutive possessions for the blue-and-gold to gain the largest margin of the frame at 14, 35-21. The AMCATs worked their way back into the action with just 4 seconds on the clock as Ralph Grasso Jr. converted a four-point play to trim the deficit back to nine.  

Hagopian threw up a buzzer beater and was fouled in the process. The senior easily swished the trio of freebies to send the Rams into half time with a 12-point advantage, 40-28.  

From the locker rooms Anna Maria outscored Suffolk, 9-2, over the first four minutes to slash the margin to five, 42-37. Jeff Juron took a timeout and the Rams gained their composure in the break. Out of the huddle, Djema and Thomas Duffy scored on back-to-back possessions to regain the double figure advantage for the visitors once again.

Anna Maria hung around though and made things interesting with four quick points late into the second stanza to pull within seven of Suffolk, 67-60, with 2:51 to play on the clock.  

Once again Juron talked things over in a timeout and it paid off. The Rams' defense kept the AMCATs nearly quiet the rest of the way, allowing just five points over the final two minutes, while DiPrizio, Brendan Mulson, Duffy and Djema sealed the deal at the line to clinch Suffolk's sixth straight win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mulson had an all-around day for Suffolk with a 17-point, 10-board, two-steal, one-assist outing to lead the way for the rams. 
• DiPrizio and Hagopian each had 11 points to their credit. The former chipped in seven caroms, three dimes and one takeaway as well, while the latter denied two shots.
• Djema went 3-for-4 from the floor including a 2-for-2 effort from behind-the-arc and at the charity stripe to finish with 10 points to go along with three handouts and one steal. 
• In a reserve effort, Duffy provided 10 points behind a 5-for-6 showing at the foul line. The junior added four assists, two rebounds and one steal. 
• As a team Suffolk shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field, 37.0 percent (10-27) from downtown and 81.0 percent (17-21) at the line. 
• The Rams outrebounded the AMCATs by 10, 34-24.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The win marks Suffolk's sixth straight, not only the longest win streak in the Juron era, but the most wins in a row since matching that number from Feb. 8-20, 2001.
• Suffolk started GNAC action 2-0 for the first time with Juron on the bench and first since the 2014-15 campaign.
• Suffolk defeated Anna Maria for the first time since Valentine's Day in 2017 to move to 6-10 all-time versus the AMCATs.
• The Rams improved to 3-4 against Anna Maria under Juron's guidance.
• Mulson notched his first collegiate double-double in the outing. 
• Mulson matched a personal-best 10 boards.  

POST-GAME PIC

COMING UP
Suffolk takes the weekend off before wrapping up a three-game road swing Tuesday, Jan. 22 at Regis. The conference clash between the Rams and Pride is set for 6 p.m.