MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) and sophomore John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) combined for 41 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to a 72-68 victory against the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Tuesday evening in its regular-season home finale on Senior Day at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks win for the fourth time in their last five games, including their second straight, to improve to 12-12 on the season, including 10-10 in Northeast-10 play. It is the first time Saint Anselm has been at .500 or better this season since Nov. 19. The River Hawks, meanwhile, drop their third straight to fall to 16-8, 12-8 NE-10.
Mabrey scored 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from behind the arc, and a perfect 5 of 5 at the free throw line, while recording three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Coming off a 69-67 win Saturday against Franklin Pierce University, in which he hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds remaining, Nielsen poured in a career-high 19 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field, including 5 of 6 shooting from deep (the five treys matched a career best), and 2 of 2 shooting from the line. He also pulled down four rebounds and handed out an assist.
Trailing 3-0 to start the contest, the Hawks scored seven straight when Mabrey tied it with a 3-pointer, gave the Hawks the lead with a layup and was followed by senior Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.), who also dropped in a layup. The River Hawks answered with a 9-0 run that included five points from Matt Welch to go on top, 12-7, four minutes in.
UMass Lowell still led by five later in the half when a layup by sophomore Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) and a Nielsen trey tied it at 14 with 11:06 to go in the opening half. The game was still even at 19-all when a jumper by freshman Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) and a layup from sophomore Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) gave the Hawks a 23-19 lead with 7:29 on the clock.
Following a pair of Akeem Williams free throws, a Borelli three-point play pushed the lead to five. Williams kept the River Hawks in it, dropping in a layup that trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to 26-23. Mabrey answered with another 3-pointer that nudged the lead to six with 6:34 remaining.
Four straight points for the River Hawks would slice it to just a pair, but baskets by junior Quinn Woodhouse (Gaylord, Mich.), Mabrey and King ballooned the lead to eight at 35-27 with 2:05 to play. A pair of Williams layups in the final 29 seconds, however, cut the Saint Anselm advantage to 35-31 heading into the break.
After the teams traded baskets to start the second half, a three-point play from Keough and a pair of free throws by sophomore Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) gave the Hawks a 42-33 lead just 2:25 in.
The River Hawks had whittled the deficit to five over a minute later when 3-pointers from Nielsen and Mabrey gave the Hawks their largest lead of the night at 50-39 with 14:58 remaining.
The lead was 10 – 65-55 – with 5:19 left when UMass Lowell went on a 9-0 run – with seven points from Williams – to cut the lead to a single point at 65-64 with 1:31 on the clock. King let some steam out of the kettle with a huge 3 from the right corner and the Hawks had a four-point cushion.
Williams made sure his team would not go quietly, getting the roll on a jumper that cut it to 68-66 with 15 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, the River Hawks fouled Mabrey, who calmly stepped to the line and nailed both free throws to give his team its four-point advantage back. Kerry Weldon would put it back to a pair with a tip-in with four seconds left, but Nielsen fittingly sunk a pair of free throws a second later to ice the game.
King netted seven points, while Harris added six points and a pair of assists. Borelli posted five points and nine boards, and added a physical presence for the Hawks. Keough chipped in with five points and four rebounds, while Mallios filled the stat sheet with two points, six assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal.
Saint Anselm outshot UMass Lowell, 44.1 percent (26-59) to 43.1 percent (28-65), including 47.4 percent (9-19) to 28.6 percent (6-21) from 3-point land. The River Hawks held a 37-35 edge on the glass, while the Hawks owned a 26-24 advantage in the paint.
Williams led the River Hawks with 26 points.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:30 p.m. when they hit the road to take on Saint Michael's College.
