MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) scored a team-high 19 points to lead five Hawks in double figures, and sophomore Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) posted the first double-double of his career, as the 15th-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team gutted out a 75-72 victory against Bentley University on Sunday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks win for the 16th time in the last 18 contests, including 13 of 14 and six straight, to climb to 18-3 on the season and 14-3 in Northeast-10 play. That marks the best start for Saint Anselm since it went 19-2 to kick off the 1995-96 campaign. The Hawks sweep the two-game, regular-season series from Bentley for the first time since the 1999-00 season. The Falcons drop to 7-14, 5-12 NE-10.
McCahey was 7-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the line and shot 6 of 9 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc in the first half. Santo, despite missing his first seven shots, finished 5-for-12 and was 2-for-2 at the line, to go along with a career-high 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Sophomore Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) netted 11 points (4-14 FG; 2-2 FT) and pulled down six boards. Junior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) registered 10 points (3-5 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 3-4 FT), eight assists and two rebounds, while classmate John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) also reached double digits with 10 points (4-9 FG; 2-6 3-FG).
After Bentley erased a 15-point, second-half deficit and grabbed a 65-64 lead on a Joe Glynn layup with 2:57 remaining, Santo converted a tough layup in traffic as he drew the foul and converted the three-point play at the line with 2:36 on the clock. Mike Topercer knocked down a jumper to tie the game at the 2:19 mark, but Santo finished another layup off a feed from Nielsen and again drew the foul. He came through at the line and Saint Anselm led it, 70-67, with 42 seconds left.
A JP Koury layup pulled Bentley within one, but the Hawks made five of their six free throws down the stretch to hold off the Falcons, despite a Jasper Grassa 3-pointer that trimmed it to two with four seconds to go.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 8-0 lead just 2:35 in on baskets by four different starters. The lead was still eight at 10-2 when Bentley ripped off a 16-3 run – with nine points from Grassa – to grab an 18-13 advantage at the 12:51 mark of the opening half.
Saint Anselm answered back with a 7-0 spurt that included a 3-pointer from Mabrey and consecutive baskets from McCahey that put the Hawks on top, 20-18, with 11:27 remaining.
The teams then traded the lead twice, in addition to the game being tied twice, before the Hawks turned a one-point lead into a seven-point advantage. The 8-2 run, which featured 3s from Mallios and McCahey, made it 33-26 with 4:32 on the clock.
Bentley answered with seven straight points – with four from Tyler McFarland and three from Grassa – to knot the game at 33 with 2:51 to go. A three-point play from senior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) snapped the deadlock and the Hawks took a 40-37 lead into the break. Saint Anselm improved to 15-0 when leading at halftime.
McCahey led all scorers with 15 at the half.
A Grassa layup pulled Bentley within one to begin the second half, but baskets from junior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) and McCahey gave the Hawks some breathing room at 44-39 just 2:07 in. With the lead still five over three minutes later, a Nielsen 3-pointer and Santo layup opened the lead to 10 at 51-41 with 13:32 remaining.
McFarland stopped the stretch with a jumper, but Mabrey answered with one of his own before Nielsen knocked down a trey and dropped in a layup off a Santo helper to give the Hawks their largest lead of the contest at 58-43 with 11:01 left.
Bentley then crafted a 10-2 run, highlighted by eight points from McFarland, to climb within 60-53 with 8:13 to play. Four straight points from Saint Anselm nudged its lead back to 11, but a 12-0 run – with six points from McFarland and four from Glynn – gave the Falcons the 65-64 edge with just under three minutes remaining.
Borelli scored six points on perfect 3 of 3 shooting, while Morse chipped in five points, three rebounds and three steals.
Saint Anselm narrowly outshot Bentley, 42 percent (29-69) to 40.6 percent (28-69), including 26.1 percent (6-23) to 22.7 percent (5-22) from long distance. The Falcons held a slight 41-39 edge on the glass, while points in the paint were even at 34. The Hawks committed 14 turnovers, while Bentley turned it over 15 times.
McFarland led Bentley with a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to Merrimack College at Stoutenburgh. 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).
