MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) led four Hawks in double figures with 16 points, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was dealt an 81-68 loss at the hands of Merrimack College on Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks fall to 2-5 on the season, including 0-4 in Northeast-10 play, while the Warriors improve to 5-3, 2-2.
Harris was 7 of 15 from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds in 35 minutes. Senior Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y.) scored a season-high 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from behind the arc, in 15 minutes. Sophomore John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) also netted a career-high 15 points on a career-best five 3-pointers. Senior Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) recorded 12 points and four rebounds.
Merrimack scored the first six points of the game and led by seven nearly six minutes in until Nielsen sank a 3 that sliced it to 12-8 with 13:43 remaining in the opening half. The Warriors answered, however, with a 15-2 run that included 10 points from Wayne Mack to make it 27-10 midway through the first half.
The Hawks still trailed by 17 at 29-12 with 7:40 left when a 13-2 run – with seven points from Harris – closed the gap to 31-25 with 1:39 on the clock. A Roland Davis basket 23 seconds later would close the scoring and send Merrimack into the break with a 33-25 lead.
Sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) opened the second half with a layup that cut the deficit to six, but five straight Merrimack points ran the lead up to 11 at 38-27 just 1:27 in. A Nielsen 3-pointer temporarily stopped the bleeding, but the Warriors reeled off an 11-4 run with five more points from Mack that opened a 15-point lead at 49-34 with 15:09 to play.
The deficit was still 15 at 55-40 with 13:26 left when three straight treys from Williams sliced it to six at 55-49 with 11:23 on the clock. A Williams jumper with 9:26 left made it a four-point game at 59-55 and the Hawks would climb to within four on two more occasions before Merrimack scored 13 of the game's final 17 points to pull away for the victory.
Mallios chipped in seven points to go along with a season-high seven helpers, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) kicked in three points and tallied a career-best six assists, two boards and a pair of steals.
Merrimack outshot Saint Anselm 51.6 percent (33-64) to 41.4 percent (24-58). The Warriors also doubled the Hawks up in the paint, 40-20, and held a 37-29 advantage on the boards.
Mack led the Warriors with 28 points and 12 boards, while Aaron Strothers poured in 27.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. when they travel across the state to take on Franklin Pierce University.
