MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.), junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) all notched double-doubles as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team shot its way to a 105-86 victory against Assumption College on Saturday afternoon at Laska Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who earn their first win at Assumption since a 69-66 triumph Jan. 27, 2007, improve to 3-2 on the young season, including 2-1 in Northeast-10 play. The Greyhounds, meanwhile, drop to 1-5, 0-2 NE-10.
McCahey poured in 22 points (6-11 FG; 4-5 3-FG; 6-6 FT) to go along with 10 rebounds and a pair of assists, while Santo scored 17 points (8-10; 1-2 3-FG), pulled down 10 boards and recorded a pair of helpers. Mallios registered 17 points (6-9 FG; 5-6 FT) – one shy of his personal best – while adding 12 assists, two steals and a pair of rebounds. Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) netted 20-plus points for the 19th time in his career as he dropped an efficient 20 (9-11 FG; 2-3 3-FG). Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 11 points (4-9 FG; 3-6 3-FG).
Marcus Murray led Assumption with 22 points.
Saint Anselm outshot Assumption, 62.5 percent (40-64) to 43.1 percent (31-72), including 55.6 percent (10-18) to 44.4 percent (8-18) from downtown.
McCahey set the tone early with a 3-pointer on Saint Anselm's opening possession just 18 seconds in. Nielsen followed as Mallios found him in transition for a trifecta that made it 6-0 just 40 seconds into the contest.
The lead was still six over a minute later when an 11-4 Assumption run gave the Greyhounds their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 15:47 remaining. The lead changed hands six times over the ensuing 4:48 before an 11-0 Saint Anselm run – triggered by a McCahey 3 and highlighted by six points from sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) – opened up a 36-26 lead for the visitors with 8:10 to go in the opening half.
Assumption responded with a 12-3 stretch that featured six points apiece from Murray and Jimmy Zenevitch to cut the deficit to one at 39-38 with 5:00 left, but McCahey answered back with consecutive 3s that pushed it to 45-38 just 42 seconds later. The Greyhounds would not fade, however, as they crafted a 12-4 run that gave them a 50-49 edge with 27 ticks left. Santo dropped in a layup as time expired to send Saint Anselm into the break with a 51-50 lead that they would never relinquish.
The Hawks were shooting 61.8 percent (21-34) from the floor at halftime, including a scorching 70 percent (7-10) from beyond the arc.
After Santo opened the second half the same way he closed the first, Assumption sliced its deficit to one on six occasions over the next four minutes, but the Hawks opened up some breathing room when a Mabrey trey touched off a short 7-3 spurt that bumped the lead to 73-67 with 11:40 to play.
The Saint Anselm lead was still six at 81-75 with 8:28 left when nine straight points, including the final five from Santo, allowed it to crack open a 15-point advantage with 5:41 on the clock. Assumption would whittle it down to 11, but a basket from four different scorers made up an 8-0 stretch that put the Hawks up 100-81. They reached the century mark on Mabrey's layup with 2:25 to go. Saint Anselm grabbed its largest lead of the game – an even 20 at 103-83 – on a pair of McCahey free throws with 1:32 left.
Joshua tallied eight points (3-6 FG; 2-2 FT), three rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block, while senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in six points (2-3 FG; 2-3 FT) two blocks and a pair of boards.
Saint Anselm held a 54-42 advantage in the paint, while Assumption owned a 39-33 edge on the glass, including 16-5 in offensive rebounds, which led to a 23-8 gap in second-chance points. Both teams committed just eight turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to Merrimack 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
