WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to an 81-75 victory against Bentley University on Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.
The Hawks win for the eighth time in their last 11 games, including two straight, to improve to 10-11 on the season and 8-9 in Northeast-10 play. The Falcons have their two-game winning streak snapped as they drop to 15-6, 11-6 NE-10.
Mabrey, who began his career with 26 points, put together his fifth 20-point performance on 7 of 16 shooting from the field, including 5 of 10 from behind the arc, and a perfect 7 of 7 shooting at the stripe. Mabrey also handed out four assists, pulled down a rebound and recorded a steal. Sophomores Dino Mallios (Waltham, Mass.) and Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) were also in double figures for the Hawks. Mallios filled the box score with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, while Harris did the same with 10 points, five boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Mabrey set the tone for the night as he splashed a 3-pointer just 31 seconds in to give the Hawks an early 3-0 lead. Trailing 12-9, Saint Anselm scored seven straight, including five from Mabrey, to take a 16-12 lead with 12:00 remaining in the opening half. After Greg Jacques sliced it to a pair with a layup, Mabrey responded with his fourth trey of the half to open the lead to 19-14 with 11:25 to go.
Four straight points from the Falcons would trim the lead to one at 19-18. Bentley would later tie it at 22 when a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) bookended a Mallios layup to give the Hawks a 30-22 lead with just under seven minutes left.
After the teams traded baskets, Bentley reeled off a 7-1 run to slice the deficit to a pair at 33-31 with 3:07 on the clock. Senior Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y.) would stop the bleeding with a 3 that pushed the lead to five, but Mike Topercer answered with a 3-pointer of his own and Saint Anselm went into the break with a 36-34 edge.
Five straight points from Bentley to start the half put it on top by three, but a three-point play from Mabrey tied the game at 39 just two minutes into the second half. The game was still tied at 43 when a Jasper Grassa trey put Bentley up three. The teams would trade baskets before a Harris jumper ignited an 8-0 run that gave the Hawks a 53-48 lead with 13:07 left. Sophomore John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) would give the Hawks the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 13:27 mark before Mabrey's fifth and final trey of the day capped the run.
A Sam Leclerc jumper would halt the run and make it a three-point game, but a pair of free throws by junior James Morse (Arundel, Maine), followed by a Nielsen tip-in, pushed the Saint Anselm lead to seven at 57-50 with just under 11 minutes to play.
The lead was still seven at 64-57 when consecutive 3s from Grassa made it a one-point game with 4:39 remaining. After the teams traded hoops, the Hawks reeled off an 11-3 run – with four points from Harris and Mabrey and three points from Mallios – to extend their lead to 77-68 with 30 seconds left. A Leclerc trey would cut it to six just three seconds later, but Morse and Harris were each perfect in their trip to the line to seal the win.
Nielsen posted nine points and three rebounds, while Morse recorded eight points, a career-high eight boards, two steals and an assist. King tallied six points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in five points and four boards.
Bentley outshot Saint Anselm, 46.8 percent (29-62) to 41.9 percent (26-62), including 41.7 percent (10-24) to 39.3 percent (11-28) from deep. Free throws pushed the Hawks over the top, however, as they were 18 of 21 from the stripe. The Falcons made seven of their nine free throw attempts. Saint Anselm held a 39-33 advantage on the glass, while Bentley outscored the Hawks, 30-20, in the paint. Both teams turned the ball over just 10 times.
Grassa led Bentley with 19 points.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. when they hit the road to take on Merrimack College. 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 Gymnasium.
