WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) registered his third career double-double and sophomore Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) poured in 26 points, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team's second-half rally fell short as 23rd-ranked Assumption College held on for a 95-89 victory Saturday afternoon at Laska Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who are receiving votes in the latest NABC Division II poll, see their seven-game winning streak snapped as they lose for just the second time in 12 games to fall to 12-3 on the season, including 8-3 in Northeast-10 play. The Greyhounds improve to 13-2, 10-1 NE-10.
Mallios matched his career high with 18 points (7-11 FG; 3-4 FT) and set a new career best with 12 assists to go along with five rebounds. Mabrey, who netted 21 in the second half, shot 10-for-19, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc, and grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshman Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) posted 18 points (5-12 FG; 3-6 3-FG; 5-6 FT) and eight boards, while sophomore Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was also in double figures with 10 points (4-11 FG; 2-3 FT), four rebounds and four assists.
Saint Anselm trailed by 21, 74-53, with 9:03 remaining when a McCahey 3-pointer sparked a 14-4 run that trimmed the deficit to 11 over the next 3:22. After Ryan Rozsnaki followed a free throw by senior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) with layup that pushed it to 19, Mabrey drained a 3 that made it 76-60 at the 8:01 mark.
Ronson quick hit a jumper to make it an 18-point game, but layups by Mabrey and Mallios cut it 14. McCahey then ended the run the way he started it – with a trey that cut it to 78-67 with 5:41 left.
With the gap at 84-72 with 3:15 on the clock, a Mabrey layup kicked off an 8-2 spurt that pulled the Hawks within six. After a Quick layup inside, a Mabrey 3 and a Santo layup cut it to seven. McCahey then made one of two at the line to make it 86-80 with 1:16 to play.
The lead was still six when a pair of Quick layups pushed it to eight. Mabrey drained another 3-pointer, however, and Saint Anselm was within 90-85 with 37.5 seconds left. After Terrance Bobb-Jones made one of two at the line, Mallios sank both from the stripe to trim it to 91-87 with 32 seconds to play.
After the teams traded scores, a pair of Kevin Donahue free throws with 5.4 seconds left made it 95-89. The Hawks called timeout, but their final shot was off the mark and Assumption held on for the win.
Morse scored nine points (4-7 FG) to go along with two assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Assumption outshot Saint Anselm, 65 percent (39-60) to 50 percent (34-68), including 53.8 percent (7-13) to 36 percent (9-25) from long range. The Greyhounds held a 34-30 edge on the glass, while the Hawks turned the ball over just nine times and forced 12 Assumption turnovers.
After Tim Beinert began the contest with a layup, a basket from Mallios and 3-pointer from McCahey put the Hawks on top, 5-2, just 1:30 in. The Hawks led 7-6 just over a minute later when a 9-0 run – with five points from Quick – opened up a 15-7 lead for the Greyhounds at the 14:51 mark.
A layup from Morse, followed by a trey from Mabrey, pulled the Hawks back within three at 15-12 with 13:29 remaining in the opening half. The teams traded baskets before an 8-0 run – capped by a Quick 3-pointer, widened the gap to 11 at 25-14 with 8:37 left.
The lead was still 11 nearly two minutes later when a Donahue jumper and a Jimmy Zenevitch layup pushed the lead to 33-18 with just under five minutes to go. The teams then traded scores six straight times before junior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) dropped in a layup off a pass from Mallios with two seconds left that made it 45-32 at the break.
Mallios led the Hawks with eight points and five assists at the half. The Greyhounds were outshooting Saint Anselm, 70 percent (21-30) to 48.4 percent (15-31), including 40 percent (2-5) to 22.2 percent (2-9).
A Borelli jumper and a Mallios 3 sliced the Saint Anselm deficit to 45-37 just 1:21 into the second half, but an 11-3 Assumption run – with eight points from Beinert – made it 56-40 just 4:10 in. With the lead down to 14, five straight points from Quick opened the lead to 63-44 with 13:42 remaining.
Saint Anselm responded with a 6-0 run – with five straight from Mabrey – to slice the Assumption lead to 63-51 with 11:26 left. The Greyhounds hit back with an 11-2 run – bookended by Rozsnaki 3s – that opened up their largest lead of the contest at 74-53 with 9:15 left.
Borelli chipped in six points and a career-high four blocks.
Quick led Assumption with 25 points.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to take on Southern Connecticut State University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Le Moyne College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
