MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) scored a game-high 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to a 77-63 victory against crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks snap their two-game losing skid to improve to 9-11 on the season, including 7-9 in Northeast-10 play, while the Penmen drop to 11-10, 7-9 NE-10.
Keough, who netted his 1,000th point on his fifth basket of the game – a baby jump hook in the paint with 16:35 remaining in the second half, was 7 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 8 at the line as he extended his double-digit scoring streak to seven games and has scored 10 or more in 14 of the last 16 contests. Keough also pulled in six rebounds, handed out five assists and made three steals.
Freshman Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) was also in double figures with a career-high 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field, including a perfect 3 of 3 from deep, and 3 of 4 at the stripe.
SNHU led 12-4 less than five minutes in when Saint Anselm crafted a 14-4 run – with six different players contributing points – to grab an 18-16 lead midway through the opening half. The Penmen had cut it to one when King drained a 3 to push the lead to 29-25 with 4:23 left.
The Penmen responded with a 9-0 that gave them a 34-29 lead with 1:40 to play. Following a layup by sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.), a Phillip Tripodakis 3-pointer opened the lead to six before a pair of free throws by freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) closed the first-half scoring with the Hawks trailing, 37-33.
With the lead still four just 2:25 into the second half, a 3-pointer and a layup by sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) gave the Hawks a one-point edge at 42-41 with 17:03 remaining. After SNHU regained the lead on a pair of B.J. Cardarelli free throws, Keough scored his 1,000th point and then converted and old-fashioned three-point play to give the home team a 47-43 lead with 15:55 to go.
The lead was three at 50-47 when Saint Anselm reeled off an 11-2 run to seize a 61-49 advantage with 10:40 on the clock. After a Tory Stapleton basket, the Hawks scored six straight, including four from Keough, to push the lead to 67-51 with 8:04 left.
When an Elijah Bonsignore layup and an Aleksandar Dobrovic 3-pointer trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to 12 at 71-59, the Hawks responded with six straight to grab their largest lead of the night at 77-59 with 3:55 to go. The Penmen then scored the final four points of the game to close the scoring.
Junior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) scored nine points, matched his career high with seven rebounds and set a new career best with five steals. Mallios tallied eight points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Harris also chipped in eight points. Mabrey posted seven points, four boards and three helpers. Sophomores John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) and Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) each netted six points.
Both teams shot dead even at 45.8 percent, but Saint Anselm outshot SNHU, 50 percent (8-16) to 38.1 percent (8-21), from deep, as well as 57.7 percent (15-26) to 43.5 percent (10-23) in the second half. The Hawks held a 32-22 advantage in the paint, a 32-30 edge on the glass and turned the ball over just 13 times, while forcing 22 Penmen turnovers.
Dobrovic led the Penmen with 14 points, while Stapleton added 12.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3:30 p.m. when they hit the road to take on Bentley University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Franklin Pierce University at Stoutenburgh.
