MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) poured in a game-high 29 points and classmate Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) registered his second career double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to Tuesday evening's 97-81 victory against Stonehill College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks improve to 6-3 on the season, including 5-2 in Northeast-10 play, while the Skyhawks slip to 3-6, 1-5 NE-10.
Santo knocked in a career-high 12 of his 15 field goal attempts, including 1 of 1 from deep, and 4 of 5 at the line, while pulling down eight rebounds. Mabrey was 7-for-16 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the stripe, while setting a new personal best in rebounds and handing out six assists. Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) was also in double figures for the Hawks with 16 points (6-13 FG; 4-8 3-FG).
Ryan Logan led Stonehill with 26 points and nine boards.
After going up 9-4 in the first 2:20 of the contest on five points from Santo, the Hawks endured a 17-2 counter run – with seven points from Logan – that gave the Skyhawks a 21-11 lead with 11:59 remaining in the opening half.
Saint Anselm responded with a 31-12 stretch that featured 10 points apiece from Santo and Mabrey to give the Hawks a 42-33 lead with 2:04 left to play. Saint Anselm would take a 44-38 advantage into the break.
Five straight points to open the second half from Nielsen increased the Hawks' lead to 11 just 1:52 in. The lead was 12 when Nielsen drained a 3-pointer to give Saint Anselm its largest lead of the night to that point at 63-48 with 14:02 left. The lead was 14 just over four minutes later when an 11-2 streak – with six points from Josh Heyliger – trimmed the Stonehill deficit to four at 75-71 with 6:26 on the clock.
Saint Anselm would step on the gas and put the game away, however, as it used eight points each from Mabrey and Nielsen, as well as four from Santo, to craft a 20-4 burst that gave it the largest lead of the night at 95-75 with 2:20 left to go.
Senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) netted eight points (4-8 FG) and dropped 10 dimes, while sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) added seven points (3-6 FG; 1-2 FT), seven boards and two assists. Senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) and sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) each chipped in six points.
Saint Anselm outshot Stonehill, 55.4 percent (36-65) to 44.6 percent (29-65), including 64.5 percent (20-31) to 50 percent (16-32) in the second half. The Skyhawks were better from long range, 38.5 percent (10-26) to 31.3 percent (5-16) and also held a 37-36 edge on the glass, including 12-6 on the offensive end. The Hawks controlled the paint, 56-34, and owned a 16-7 margin in points off turnovers after giving it away just eight times and forcing 14 Stonehill mistakes.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, Dec. 22 at 1:30 p.m. when they play host to Post University 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.
