SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) scored 20 points, including 14 in the second half, and senior Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) posted his 13th career double-double as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team erased a 10-point halftime deficit and recorded a 69-62 victory against Le Moyne College on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.
The Hawks win for the sixth time in their last seven games to improve to 8-9 on the season, including 6-7 in Northeast-10 play. The Dolphins fall to 9-8, 5-8 NE-10.
Harris was 9 of 18 from the floor and a perfect 2 of 2 at the line, while pulling down four rebounds and handing out one of the Hawks' 17 assists on the day. Keough earned his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while matching his career best with four steals and handing out a pair of assists. Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) was also in double figures with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the field, including 2 of 5 from behind the arc, and 2 of 2 shooting from the stripe. Mabrey matched his career high with six assists and added three steals and three rebounds.
Saint Anselm trailed 37-27 at the half before going on a 19-0 run that spanned the first 7:19 of the second half until a Chris Johnson 3-pointer broke the ice with a 3-pointer with 12:40 remaining. Keough sparked the run with a layup, followed by a Mabrey trey and a basket by junior James Morse (Arundel, Maine.). Another Keough layup cut the deficit to one before sophomore John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Hawks the lead for good, 39-37, with 15:25 left.
Nielsen sank another 3 just 30 seconds later, with a pair of free throws by sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) and a basket by Harris closing the stretch with the Hawks on top 46-37 with 13:26 on the clock.
Following the Johnson 3-pointer, back-to-back Harris baskets gave the Hawks a 50-40 lead with 11:48 to go. Saint Anselm still led by 10 a possession later when consecutive treys from Johnson and Brian Zapisek trimmed the lead to four at 52-48.
It was still a four-point game over two minutes later when Mabrey and Harris fueled an 8-0 run that gave the Hawks their largest lead of the afternoon at 62-50 with 6:21 left. Mabrey scored the first four points, with Harris providing the next four.
Le Moyne answered back with a 7-0 run that included another Johnson 3-pointer and made it 62-57 with under five minutes to play. Still trailing by five over two minutes later, the Dolphins climbed within two on a Derrek Tartt free throw and a dunk by Jim Janson that made it 64-62 with 1:18 to go.
The Hawks would hold on, however, as they scored the final five points of the game. A Harris layup pushed the lead back to four with 41 seconds left before a pair of Keough free throws with 25 ticks on the clock opened it up to six. Another Keough free throw with 10 seconds left closed the scoring.
Morse posted seven points and four rebounds, while Nielsen recorded six points and three steals. Mallios tallied five points, eight assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) scored four points on a perfect day at the line and pulled down five boards.
The Hawks led 14-13 early on when a 9-0 run gave Le Moyne a 22-14 advantage with 9:10 to go in the opening half. Baskets by Harris and Mabrey stopped the bleeding and cut the deficit to four, but a Tartt trifecta pushed the lead back to seven at 25-18 with 6:22 to play.
A basket by Keough and a pair of Borelli free throws made it a three-point contest with less than five minutes remaining, but a Gamal Mohamed 3-pointer, followed by a pair of layups by Janson made it 32-22 with just over two minutes to go. Harris and Johnson then traded baskets, before Mabrey and Johnson traded treys to close the first-half scoring.
Le Moyne outshot Saint Anselm, 47.1 percent (24-51) to 42.1 percent (24-57), overall, but the Hawks held a 50 percent (14-28) to 40 percent (10-25) advantage during the second half in which they outscored the Dolphins, 42-25. The Hawks won the battle on the glass, 36-29, outscored the Dolphins in the paint, 28-24, and turned the ball over just 11 times, while forcing 18 turnovers.
Johnson led the Dolphins with 17 points.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. when they hit the road to take on the University of New Haven. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Adelphi University at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
