PAXTON, Mass. — Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored six-straight points to force overtime for the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team, but the Falcons fell short in a tightly contested battle, 85-82, against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent Anna Maria College on Wednesday.

Daniels connected for 31 points along with a career-high eight steals, three rebounds and an assist, while Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) netted 22 points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) recorded his eighth double-double of the season with a dozen points and 10 rebounds.

THE BASICS

FINAL (OT): Anna Maria 85 | Albertus Magnus 82

RECORDS: Albertus (13-10, 9-3 GNAC) | Anna Maria (9-14, 6-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus opened the first half with a 9-2 run ignited by a driving layup by Tanksley off an defensive board by Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) and capped off by five-straight points from Ford, Jr. at 16:51. The visitors played aggressive defense with four steals during the scoring stretch, including two by Daniels.
• The teams traded baskets across the next four minutes of action but Albertus maintained the lead, including a three-point jumper by Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) for the 16-11 advantage at 12:44 in the opening half.
• Anna Maria went on a 6-0 run for the one-point lead but it was short lived as Daniels' steal for a fastbreak layup brought Albertus' back up, 18-17, with 10:57 remaining in the half.
• The half continied to be competitive as the Falcons scored eight-straight points off back-to-back buckets by Daniels and capped off by a three from Ford, Jr. for the 26-24 lead at 6:20.
• Daniels scored on consecutive possessions for the visitors including a jumpshot with three seconds remaining on the clock for the 39-38 lead going into the break.
• The home team opened the second half scoring with a 10-5 run that included threes by Ray Carter and Nolan Serafin for the 48-44 edge at 16:48.
• Back-to-back two-pointers by Ford, Jr. allowed Albertus to knot the game at 52, followed by a pair of free throws by Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) for the two-point edge at 12:18.
• Ford, Jr. converted on a three-point play to keep Albertus in the lead by three. Crawford blocked the AmCats game-tying three-pointer at 10:50 which allowed Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) to force the turnover as Crawford sprinted across the court for the fastbreak layup eight seconds later.
• A 6-3 run kept the Falcons up, 65-59, with 6:14 remaining in regulation, but a 7-0 stretch by the hosts gave the AmCats the one-point advantage.
• Daniels closed out the second half with six-straight points across 2:24 of play to force extra time for the 71-71 tie. His final two points of the half came on free throws after being fouled on a mid-range jumper by Carter.
• Tanksley and Duncanson each had baskets early in overtime as the teams were tied, 75-75. However, the AmCats scored the next five points that included a three-point play by Carter to take an 80-75 lead with 1:36 left.
• Albertus got to within three points three more times but the AmCats were able to hold on for the win.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

38.7 FG% | 21.7 3PT% | 67.9 FT% 

Anna Maria

49.2 FG% | 42.9 3PT% | 90.0 FT%

LEADERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 31 Points | 8 Steals | 3 Rebounds | 8-9 FT | 1 Assist

Ray Ford, Jr. 22 Points | 4 Rebounds | 2 Steals

Deivone Tanksley 12 Points | 10 Rebounds | 3 Steals | 2 Blocks | 2 Assists | 6-8 FT

Anna Maria 

Ray Carter 24 Points | 10 Assists | 1 Rebound | 1 Block | 6-7 FT

Gabriel Armstead 17 Points | 8 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 5-6 FT

Nolan Serafin 15 Points | 5-7 FG | 3-3 FT | 2-4 3PT | 6 Rebounds | 1 Steal | 1 Assist

NOTEWORTHY

• Ford, Jr. has scored in double digits in 11 of his last 12 games.
• Daniels has netted 30+ points four times this season. He now has a season-high 391 points and 884 career points.
• Tanksley is sixth in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game and in total rebounds with 184 this season.

UP NEXT

The Falcons return to The Nest for Senior Day against GNAC's Regis College at 3 p.m.