MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 21 points and junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) notched his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team handed Adelphi University a 92-70 defeat Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks win for the ninth time in their last 11 games, including their third straight, to improve to 10-4 on the season and 8-2 in Northeast-10 play. The Panthers drop to 4-10, 2-6 NE-10.
Nielsen shot 6-for-13 from the floor, including 5-for-10 from long range, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe, while adding six rebounds and two assists. Santo was an efficient 7 of 10 from the field, including 1 of 1 from deep, and made all four of his free throws, while filling the box score with two assists, a block and a steal. Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) netted 17 points (7-15 FG; 2-4 3-FG; 1-3 FT) and tallied six boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) was also in double figures with 14 points (4-10 FG; 1-5 3-FG; 5-7 FT).
Duane Morgan paced Adelphi with 19 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and a pair of assists. Ryan DeNicola also registered a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards, while Anthony Libroia scored 15.
Trailing 6-2 under two minutes in, the Hawks reeled off an 18-4 run – with eight points from McCahey and five from Santo – to open up a 20-10 lead with 13:39 remaining in the opening half. Libroia answered with a 3-pointer before DeNicola followed with a layup that made it a five-point game just over a minute later.
The margin was six later in the half when four straight points from Mabrey sparked a 9-2 run that pushed the lead to 37-24 with 6:31 to go. Buckets from Morgan and Libroia trimmed the deficit to nine less than two minutes later and Adelphi would eventually go into the break trailing, 45-35.
With the lead still at 10 nearly three minutes into the second half, Saint Anselm used a 13-2 run – highlighted by a trio of Nielsen treys – to break open a 62-41 lead with 14:40 remaining. A pair of Nielsen free throws capped a 5-0 run that pushed the lead to 23 (67-44) over two minutes later.
Adelphi would shave its deficit to 16 over the next six-plus minutes, but an 8-0 run – sparked by a Santo three-point play – near the end of the half stretched the lead to a game-high 25 points (92-67).
Sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) chipped in 12 points (4-6 FG; 4-5 FT) – one shy of his career high – and four rebounds off the bench, while senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) tallied seven points (2-7 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 2-2 FT), eight assists and three rebounds.
Saint Anselm outshot Adelphi, 47.7 percent (31-65) to 42.6 percent (26-61), while the Panthers held a narrow 41.7 percent (5-12) to 40 percent (10-25) edge from distance. The Hawks held advantages on the glass (39-35) and in the paint (36-34), while turning the ball over just eight times and forcing 13 Adelphi turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
