Kaim drops 25 in Wildcat loss

PAXTON, Mass. - The Wheelock men's basketball team rallied from a 16 point deficit Thursday night, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats fell to Anna Maria College 81-78 at the Fuller Activities Center. The AMCATS remain unbeaten at home and improve their overall record to 5-6, while the Wildcats drop to 7-3.

Sophomore Chris Pinsonault (Marlboro, Mass.) had a team-high 20 points for the Amcats, while freshmen Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass.) and Jeremy Ross (Holden, Mass.) each added 18.

AMC made the most of the Wildcats' mistakes, building a 13-3 edge in points off turnovers, and went into the locker room with a 44-31 lead.

Pinsonault scored a team-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Anthony Click added 11 points and nine rebounds. Kaim paced the Wildcats, scoring 13 points on an efficient 6-of-7 from the field.

The Wildcats came out strong in the second half and began chipping away at the AMC lead. With the AMCATS leading by 16, Wheelock went on a 13-3 run to close the gap to just six points at 51-45.

AMC answered back, and built the lead back to 13 with nine minutes remaining after two free throws by junior Derek Johnson (Worcester, Mass.). 

Un-phased, the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run, closing the gap to just three on a trey by junior Patsy Dinuzzo (Beaver, Pa.).

The AMC lead was down to just two with 1:20 remaining when Ross nailed a huge three from the corner to give the AMCATS a 78-73 lead.

Freshman Rafael Candelario (Lawrence, Mass.) grabbed a steal and drained two clutch free throws to put the game away, as the AMCATS captured the 81-78 win.

Pinsonault led the AMCATS with a team-high 20 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor and 3-5 from behind the arc. Anthony Click added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeremy Ross hit 6-8 from the floor, including 4-5 from three-point land, for 18 points of his own. Derek Johnson also played well in the win, adding 14 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high three blocks.

Kaim led all scorers with 25 points, hitting 10-of-15 from the field. Senior Sherard Robbins (Malden, Mass.) had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Eric Rice (Woburn, Mass.) added 13 points in the loss.

The Wildcats will host Mitchell College on Saturday at 2:00 pm, while the AMCATS begin conference play in a TCCC matchup o