RINDGE, N.H. – Sophomore Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) registered his third straight double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but the 10th-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered a 75-66 loss against Franklin Pierce University on Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse.
The Hawks lose for the first time in eight games and just the second time in their last 16 to drop to 19-4 on the season, including 15-4 in Northeast-10 play. The Ravens, who are receiving votes in the poll, bump their record to 18-5, 15-4 NE-10.
Santo shot 5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-1 from deep, and 4-for-6 at the stripe in 23 minutes off the bench. Freshman Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 14 points to go along with six boards and three assists.
Saint Anselm jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind a three-point play from senior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) and a long jumper from junior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine). After a Ryen Vilmont three-point play, a 3-pointer from sophomore Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) and a Borelli layup opened it up to 10-3 just 3:08 in.
Franklin Pierce responded in a big way, however, reeling off a 25-0 run that last 6:43 – with seven points from Eric Jean-Guillaume and six apiece from Ellis Cooper and Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris – to grab a 28-10 advantage midway through the opening half.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from junior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) and Santo, followed by one of two at the line from Santo, trimmed the Saint Anselm deficit to 28-17 with 8:39 to play.
With the margin still at 11 more than five minutes later, junior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) knocked down a trey that sparked a 7-0 run, which pulled the Hawks within 37-33 at the 2:12 mark. The Ravens scored the final three points of the half, however, and took a 40-33 lead into the locker room.
Franklin Pierce opened the second half the way it closed the first – by scoring three straight to make it a 10-point game less than a minute in. The Hawks responded again, however, using an 11-2 run – with seven points from McCahey – to slice it to 45-44 with 14:02 remaining.
The Ravens would not give up the lead easily as Cooper's five points powered a 7-0 spurt that pushed the lead back to 52-44 at the 11:24 mark. The Hawks refused to go away as Nielsen 3-pointers bookended a 10-2 run that knotted the game at 54 with 8:54 left.
Five straight points from Jean-Guillaume fueled another 7-0 response from the Ravens that made it 61-54 at the 6:40 mark. A three-point play from McCahey cut it to four, but Jean-Guillaume answered with one of his own to push the lead back to seven. The teams then traded scores twice before Franklin Pierce hit five of six free throws to make it 73-61 with 28 seconds on the clock.
A Mallios trey made it a nine-point game before McCahey closed the scoring with a layup that followed two Vilmont free throws.
Morse netted nine points (4-9 FG; 1-1 FT) to go along with three rebounds and three assists, while Nielsen also had nine on 3 of 6 shooting from distance. Mallios tallied eight points (3-9 FG; 2-5 3-FG), four assists and three rebounds. Borelli posted six points and eight boards, with Mabrey chipping in five points, six rebounds and three assists.
Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm, 43.1 percent (28-65) to 37.1 percent (26-70), and held a slim 31.6 percent (6-19) to 30.8 percent (8-26) edge from 3-point land. The Hawks owned a 43-41 margin on the glass, but were outscored 38-30 in the paint and committed 16 turnovers, while the Ravens turned it over just 12 times.
Jean-Guillaume led the Ravens with 26 points.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. when they travel to take on the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Saint Michael's 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).
