MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) scored a team-high 15 points to lead four Hawks in double figures, but the ninth-ranked and top-seeded Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was knocked off by fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce University, 71-68, in a Northeast-10 Championship semifinal Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who lose for just the second time in their last 13 games – with both losses now coming against Franklin Pierce – drop to 23-5 on the season and miss out on their 11th title game appearance. The Ravens, meanwhile, earn their first victory against Saint Anselm on the Hilltop since an 89-76 Northeast-10 quarterfinal win Feb. 26, 2001 – a span of 11 games – and become just the second team to take down the Hawks at home in 14 tries this season. FPU, which defeated the Hawks, 75-66, at home Feb. 16, improves to 21-7 on the year and will play host to sixth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University in the championship game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Mabrey shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 2-for-5 from long range, while collecting three rebounds. Sophomore Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) netted 12 points (5-8 FG; 2-3 FT) to go along with four boards and two steals, while freshman Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) posted 11 points (4-13 FG; 1-5 3-FG; 2-2 FT), eight rebounds and two assists. Senior James Morse (Arundel, Maine) chipped in 10 points (3-5 FG; 3-5 3-FG) and four rebounds.
Saint Anselm led 65-63 with 3:23 to play in the game when four straight points from Ellis Cooper and a short jumper in the lane from Northeast-10 Player of the Year Eric Jean-Guillaume put the Ravens in front, 69-65, with 1:40 on the clock.
After a missed 3-pointer from junior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.), Santo came through with an acrobatic put-back to trim the deficit to a pair with 1:05 to go. Jean-Guillaume missed a layup at the other end with 28 seconds left to give the Hawks a chance to tie or take the lead.
Morse was fouled with 4.2 seconds left and made one of two at the line to cut it to 69-68. Ryen Vilmont grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.6 seconds on the clock. He sank both at the stripe to put the Ravens up by three.
After the Hawks called timeout to draw up a play, junior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) tossed an inbounds pass three-quarters the length of the court to Mallios, who made the catch near the left sideline. Mallios unsuccessfully called for a timeout and with the clock about to expire, he lofted the ball up to try and create a play, but it fell to the court and the buzzer sounded.
Mallios scored eight points (3-9 FG; 1-4 3-FG; 1-2 FT) and filled the rest of the stat sheet with eight assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block. Nielsen added eight points (3-7 FG; 2-6 3-FG) and three boards.
The Hawks jumped out to a 9-2 lead just 4:34 into the contest behind a pair of 3-pointers from Morse. Franklin Pierce responded with a 9-3 run – with four points from Jean-Guillaume – to slice the Saint Anselm lead to 12-11 with 12:41 remaining in the opening half.
With the lead still one, McCahey knocked down a jumper to bump the Hawks' lead to three, but Ant Lessane drained his second straight 3 to knot the game at 19-all with 10:14 to go.
Saint Anselm led by one, 23-22, when a 9-3 stretch – capped by another Morse trifecta – opened the lead back up to seven at 32-25 at the 6:57 mark. The Ravens answered by ripping off a 12-0 run, which was kicked off with eight straight points from Vilmont, that gave them a 37-32 advantage with 3:00 on the clock.
The Franklin Pierce lead was up to seven with less than 10 seconds to play in the half when Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to send the Hawks into the locker room trailing, 41-37.
Following a Cooper layup to start the second half, five Mabrey points fueled an 8-0 Saint Anselm run that put the Hawks on top, 45-43, with 14:33 to play. After back-to-back lead changes and a tie, Nielsen buried a 3 to open up a 50-47 lead for the Hawks with 12:32 remaining. Four straight points from the Ravens erased that lead, but another Nielsen trey and a jumper from Mabrey made it 55-51 at the 9:06 mark.
The Ravens hit back with an 8-0 run – with the first six points coming from Jean-Guillaume – to open up a 59-55 lead with 7:01 left. The teams traded baskets before two McCahey free throws and five straight points from Santo put Saint Anselm back in the lead at 64-61 with 4:13 to play.
Franklin Pierce responded again with an 8-1 run that leapfrogged them into the lead at 69-65 with 1:40 left. Cooper's two free throws with 2:39 to go gave the Ravens the lead for good at 67-65.
The Ravens outshot the Hawks, 46.2 percent (24-52) to 41.3 percent (26-63), including 44.4 percent (8-18) to 36 percent (9-25) from distance. The largest discrepancy, however, might have come at the line, where Franklin Pierce made 15 of 19 shots and Saint Anselm connected on just 7 of 16 attempts. The Ravens held advantages on the glass (40-31) and in the paint (28-24), while the Hawks committed just seven turnovers and forced 15, but did not capitalize as points off mistakes were 8-7 in favor of the visitors.
Cooper led Franklin Pierce with 18 points and 16 boards, while Jean-Guillaume added 17 points.
The Hawks will now wait for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to see where they will be seeded in the East Regional, which gets underway Saturday, March 16. The Selection Show takes place Sunday, March 10 at 10:30 p.m. and can be viewed live at NCAA.com. 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).
