SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) scored 16 points as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team staved off a furious comeback by American International College to earn a 54-51 victory Sunday afternoon at Butova Gymnasium.
The Hawks post their first three-game winning streak of the season to improve to 5-8 overall, including 3-6 in Northeast-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 4-9, 2-7 NE-10.
Mabrey was 7 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 4 from behind the arc, while adding four rebounds and four assists.
After Mabrey gave the Hawks an early 2-0 lead just 21 seconds into the contest, AIC scored nine straight to grab a seven-point advantage just 4:15 in. Saint Anselm responded with eight straight points as Mabrey knocked down a jumper, followed by a 3-pointer, before junior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) drilled a 3 of his own to give the Hawks a 10-9 lead.
Janek Schmidkunz sank a 3-pointer to give AIC the lead back at 12-10 before freshman Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) answered with a 3 that sparked an 8-2 run and gave Saint Anselm an 18-14 lead. Sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) followed with a layup before an Anthony Thomas basket made it a one-point game. Morse closed the stretch when he banged in another trey at the 7:38 mark.
The Yellow Jackets hit back by scoring nine straight points as part of a 12-2 run that gave them a 26-20 lead with 1:43 on the clock. Sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) sank a 3-pointer to halt the run and classmate Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to close the first-half scoring with AIC leading 26-25.
Mabrey extended the run to 9-0 as he dropped in a pair of layups to kick off the second half and give the Hawks a 29-26 lead 1:23 in. After a jumper by Spencer Braithwaite and a 3-pointer from Schmidkunz put AIC back on top, 31-29, Saint Anselm ripped off a 23-3 run that gave them a commanding 18-point lead with over seven minutes to go. Borelli netted six points during the stretch, while Harris and Mallios each added four.
After Harris' layup that capped the run and made it 52-34 with 7:14 to play, the Hawks went without a field goal for the next 4:47 as AIC scored 13 straight as part of a 17-2 run that lasted the following 5:49. A Braithwaite jumper pulled the Yellow Jackets to within 54-51 with 1:25 on the clock, but neither team would score again and Braithwaite would miss a 3 to tie it with two seconds left as the Hawks escaped with the win.
Borelli scored eight points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, while Morse posted eight points and six boards. Mallios tallied seven points, two assists and two rebounds, while Harris recorded six points, two boards and two assists.
Saint Anselm outshot AIC, 42.3 percent (22-52) to 39.6 percent (21-53), including 44.8 percent (13-29) to 37.9 percent (11-29) in the second half and 40 percent (6-15) to 29.4 percent (5-17) from behind the arc. Points in the paint were even at 24, but the Hawks held a 38-30 advantage on the glass.
Schmidkunz led all scorers with 17 points.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. when they hit the road to take on Pace University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Assumption College at Stoutenburgh.
