Men's Basketball Wins 3OT Thriller

Worcester State 93, Anna Maria 90  3 OT

Box Score

Worcester, MA --- Senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he helped propel Worcester State to a 93-90 triumph this afternoon over local rival Anna Maria in non-conference men’s basketball action.

The Lancers have now won five straight over the AMCATS (6-8) and nine of their last 11 meetings since the 1997-98 season. The contest also marked the second such time there ever being a game to go into five frames with the last one coming in a 116-112 setback against Boston State (UMass Boston) in the winter of 1966.

Worcester State (7-7) was also paced by junior Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, MA) who notched 19 points with 7 boards while classmate Ryan Testagrossa (Athol, MA) added 18 points and 6 caroms with three made three pointers. Sophomore Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) also grabbed 9 rebounds before he fouled out in the second overtime. Horton finished with a game-best 6 assists.

Junior Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, MA) led five Anna Maria players in double-figures with 27 points with five made three pointers. Third-year Junior De La Hotz (Lawrence, MA) tallied 18 points while freshman Anthony Click (Springfield, MA) and classmate Jeremy Ross (Holden, MA) chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Junior Derek Johnson (Worcester, MA/Doherty) paced the visitors with 12 points and 13 boards.

The AMCATS had a late 62-52 lead with 6:22 left in regulation before Worcester State went on a 12-2 spurt to tie the game up 64-64 four minutes later. At 1:43 De La Hoz converted a lay-up to put Anna Maria ahead by two before both teams traded free throws to make the score 67-65 with 62 seconds remaining.

The Lancers then went down the floor, ran a play and Douillette nailed an open jump-shot to send it into overtime.

Douillette began the first extra session the same way he ended regulation with a trey before De La Hoz responded with a three-pointer to knot the game 70-70 at the 3:19 mark. Both squads would trade shots from three point land before Pinsonault gave the AMCATS the two-point lead with a pair of free throws. The Lancers then promptly knotted the score with 70 seconds left on two points in the paint by Douillette.

Following a WSC timeout, Anna Maria had a sequence that saw two players miss layups before freshman Javier Bristol (Haverhill, MA) logged the go-ahead points with 35 seconds left (77-75). Atkins would finish would only four points for the Lancers, but he came up in the clutch to deliver a lay-up to bring the game into the second overtime.

The AMCATS scored the first points of the second extra period with back-to-back field goals to go up by four with 3:18 left. A trey by Testagrossa got the lead back to one (81-80), but the visitors connected with a successful attempt from downtown by Ross and took advantage of a Lancer miscue to lead by six with 58 seconds remaining (86-80).

Worcester State then received a traditional three-point play by Horton before Testagrossa deflected the ensuing inbounds pass up in the air and back to Hamilton just as WSC’s sideline called a timeout. After the break, Horton would tie the game for the 13th time with a three pointer with 30 ticks left to put the game into the third frame.

Ross started things off with a good lay-up before the freshman Tim Henault (Lunenburg, MA) registered his only points of the game with the go-ahead three-pointer (89-88) for WSC. With 1:27 remaining, Douillette put the Blue and Gold up by three, but the AMCATS would score a field goal on a conversion by Click to put the visitors behind by just one (91-90) with 59 seconds on the clock.

Both teams would turn the ball over once before Testagrossa finally came up with the ball on a steal and he was immediately fouled with 10 seconds left. After he drilled both of his attempts from the charity stripe to make it a three point game (93-90), Pinsonault had a golden opportunity to put the game into its fourth extra stanza, but his bid rimmed off of the basket to give Worcester State the hard fought victory.

The opening stanza saw the lead change hands nine times while there were also six ties. Ahead 26-24 with 3:08 left, the AMCATS would go on a 12-4 spurt to close out the opening half with the visitors up 35-28 at the intermission.

Anna Maria would lead by as many as 13 in the opening minutes of the second period (43-40) before both squads started to trade baskets until the Lancers big run to tie the score.

Worcester State ended the contest with advantages in total rebounds (53-49), offensive boards (24-18) and second chance points (16-8).

Both teams shot just over 40 percent for the game and very well from beyond the three point arc. The Lancers connected for 9 for 23 (39%) while the AMCATS went 12-for-28 from downtown (42%).

Testagrossa would set the school's modern record for minutes played in one game with 52 out of a possible 55 minutes.

The two squads continue their respective league schedules on Saturday with afternoon games. Worcester State will play Framingham State on the road at 5 PM while Anna Maria entertains Colby-Sawyer with a 1 o’clock start time.