MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to an 83-71 victory against Assumption College on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks extend their winning streak to five games and are now 7-8 on the season, including 5-6 in Northeast-10 play. The Greyhounds are also now 7-8, 5-6 NE-10.
Harris was 8 of 12 from the field, including 1 of 1 from deep, and a perfect 4 of 4 at the line to go along with six rebounds, a career-high six assists and four steals, which matched his career best. Senior Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) scored 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor and 6 of 7 shooting at the stripe, while tallying four assists, two boards and two steals. Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) netted 16 points as he was 5-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from deep, and 4 of 5 at the line. Sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) added 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting overall, including 1 of 2 from beyond the arc, and 3 of 4 shooting at the stripe, while tallying seven assists and four steals.
Saint Anselm grabbed an early 4-0 lead on consecutive baskets by Harris. After Tim Beinert knocked down a jumper for Assumption, Mabrey sunk back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawks a 10-2 lead. With the lead still eight at 15-7, the Hawks went on an 8-2 run that was sparked by Harris, who hit a 3-pointer and knocked down a jumper to make it 20-7. After another Beinert jumper, Keough completed a three-point play to close the run and make it 23-9 just 5:13 in. The Hawks started the game 9-for-9 from the floor and did not miss a shot for the first 6:32 of the contest.
The Greyhounds had trimmed the lead to 27-18 when a Mallios layup sparked a 14-3 stretch that ran the score to 41-21 with 6:05 remaining after Mallios capped the run with a 3. With 2:40 on the clock, a 3-pointer from freshman Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) gave Saint Anselm its largest lead of the contest at 50-28. Assumption would score 11 of the half's final 15 points to slice the deficit to 54-39 at the break.
Harris and Mabrey posted 15 and 13 points, respectively, in the first half, while Keough and Mallios each had nine.
After Kevin Donahue opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, the Hawks scored six straight to open a 60-42 lead 5:23 in. The lead was still 18 at 70-52 when consecutive treys from Ronson Quick trimmed the Saint Anselm advantage to 70-58 with 5:51 remaining.
The Hawks answered right back with a 6-0 stretch that ran the lead back to 18 at 76-58 with 4:28 left. The home team capped the run when Mallios made a steal in front of the scorers' table and threw a no-look pass over his head to a charging Harris, who went in for the uncontested dunk.
Assumption still trailed by 18 at 83-65 when it scored the game's final six points to cut its margin of defeat to 12 points.
Junior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) tallied seven points, four rebounds and three steals, while King chipped in with six points and two rebounds.
Saint Anselm outshot Assumption, 54.9 percent (28-51) to 49.1 percent (26-53), including 66.7 percent (18-27) to 48.4 percent (15-31) in the first half. The Hawks shot 43.8 percent (7-16) from behind the arc, including 62.5 percent (5-8) in the first half, while the Greyhounds were 5 of 11 from deep in each half. Assumption held a 29-24 advantage on the glass, but was outscored, 30-20, in the paint.
Quick led Assumption with 18 points.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University at Stoutenburgh.
