Men’s Basketball Meets Anna Maria Saturday

BOSTON – The Suffolk men's basketball is back at home Saturday afternoon when the Rams welcome Anna Maria to Regan Gymnasium for a 3:15 p.m. tip-off. 

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DOUBLE FEATURE
For the final time this season the Suffolk men's and women's basketball teams will host a doubleheader at Regan Gymnasium. The women's squad gets the action underway at 1 p.m. against Saint Joseph (Conn.) with the men's team hosting Anna Maria in the closer at 3:15 p.m. 

Overall, the men are 1-2 when playing on the same day as the women on the Larry and Michael Smith Court, while the women boast a 2-1 ledger on double feature game days. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Suffolk men's basketball team was limited to just 51 points at Johnson & Wales as the Wildcats put on the pressure and excelled offensively to defeat the Rams, 77-51, inside the Wildcat Center Wednesday night.  

MORE READING: JWU Defense Sets Back Men's Basketball, 77-51

RUNDOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk looks to snap a five-game skid that put the Rams at 4-14 on the season and 3-8 in conference action. The blue-and-gold last marked a tally in the win column Jan. 10 with a decisive 79-45 victory over Rivier, but has since dropped decisions to Albertus Magnus (72-59), Lasell (86-63), Norwich (73-42), Mount Ida (75-65) and JWU (77-51). 

The Rams offense has been limited as of late, not scoring more than 65 points in the last five outings to bring a 63.6 ppg average into the Saturday showdown. Leading the way offensively for Suffolk is a trio of sophomores in Steven DiPrizio (13.1 ppg), Michael Hagopian (10.7 ppg) and Jim Djema (10.2 ppg). 

On the defensive end, Suffolk has picked up 32.3 rpg, but is being outrebounded by its opponents by a 4.8 margin. DiPrizio once again paces the pack with 8.3 rpg with Thomas Duffy adding 4.8 rpg to the effort.  

A BIT ABOUT THE AMCATS
Similar to Suffolk, Anna Maria rides a five-game losing streak into Saturday with setbacks to familiar foes in Norwich (68-63), Mount Ida (75-66), JWU (106-71) and Albertus Magnus (85-52). The AMCATS dropped their latest game to Emmanuel, by a 71-66 deficit to fall to 3-15 overall and 3-8 in league play. 

Anna Maria boasts a 65.6 ppg average thanks in large part to freshman forward Mike Rapoza's 17.4 ppg. Kenneth Graham and David Jean-Louis add 10.1 ppg and 9.7 ppg to the effort. 

The AMCATS are outrebounding their opponents by the slimmest of margins, 0.3, with 34.3 rpg as a squad. Rapoza completes his double-double average with 12.9 caroms per outing, the best amongst GNAC players.  

THE SERIES
Suffolk has dropped its last three meeting with the AMCATS, with Anna Maria leading the all-time series, 8-3.       

EYES ON THE GAME

ROOKIE REMARKS
For back-to-back weeks Dec. 5 and 12, Thomas Duffy earned GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week honors. 

MORE READING:  Duffy Named GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week |Duffy Grabs Second Straight GNAC Corvias Rookie of the Week

SUFFOLK FREE RADIO
Suffolk Athletics has teamed up with Suffolk Free Radio to bring Ram Nation live broadcast events this year including multiple home and away women's basketball contests.

The pre-game shows are set to launch 15 minutes prior to tip-off of all contests and fans can follow along at mixlr.com/suffolkfreeradio/.

WHAT'S NEXT?
It's right back out on the road for the Rams as they make the short trip to the Granite State for a mid-week match at Rivier Wednesday, Feb. 1. Game time is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.