MEN'S BASKETBALL LOSES ON BUZZER BEATER TO ANNA MARIA 81-79
NEW LONDON, CT- The crowd went from jubilation to complete silence in just 4.8 seconds. Mitchell College (7-11) suffered a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating loss to Anna Maria College (7-13) Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Mitchell was trailing by as much as 15 with just over six minutes remaining. Down by seven with 2:59 remaining, the Pequots clawed their way back to tie the game at 76 with half a minute to go. Freshman guard Cory Garabedian (Center Falls, RI/Center Falls) grabbed a steal at 1:46 and hit teammate Eric Murray (Fr., Bridgeport, CT/Bassick HS) for an "and one" opportunity.
Pressure from the Mitchell front court trapped the Amcats on the sideline forcing a turnover. On the ensuing Pequot possession Lanham found sophomore forward Matt Bindner (Milford, CT/ Jonathan Law) for the tying lay-in. The Amcats pushed past the Mitchell press to convert on a three pointer from the deep right side with 19 seconds remaining. Mitchell answered with their own three-point play, the old fashioned way, when Lanham was fouled on a made lay up and sunk his free throw. The four remaining second proved to be just enough for Anna Maria to find junior forward Quincy Nunnally (Westboro, MA/Westboro) for the winning lay-up at the buzzer.
Murray finished the night with 19 points for Mitchell. Senior forward T. J. Smith (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior) hit 4 shots from long-range and finished with 16 points. Anna Maria had the game high scorer in Nunnally, who finished with 24. Freshman Lance Spratling (Pittsfield, MA/Taconic) knocked in 14 points.
Mitchell will travel to Association of Division III Independents rival Newbury College (game at Hellenic College) on Saturday, February 3rd for a 2:00 PM tip-off. They will return to New London on Sunday to host Morrisville State for the second half of a double header at 3:00 PM. Sunday will be the final home game for seniors Tony Smith (Wethersfield, CT/Westhersfield HS), T.J. Smith, James Dunleavy (Fair Haven, VT/ Fair Haven Union), and Chris Brown (Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick).