MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) and junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) both posted their fourth double-doubles of the season, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball lost to Southern Connecticut State University, 101-91, Tuesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks lose for just the third time in their last 12 games and fall to 10-5 on the season, including 8-3 in Northeast-10 play, while the Owls improve to 13-2, 7-2 NE-10.
McCahey scored a team-high 19 points (9-17 FG; 1-2 3-FG) and ripped down 12 rebounds, while Santo netted 12 points (3-8 FG; 6-9 FT) and collected 10 boards. Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) hit for 16 points (5-18 FG; 4-10 3-FG; 2-4) and junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) tallied 15 points (6-17 FG; 2-9 3-FG; 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in 11 points (4-4 FG; 3-4 FT) off the bench.
Tylon Smith paced the Owls with 32 points (14-19 FG; 4-4 FT), seven rebounds and six assists.
The lead changed hands five times in the first three-plus minutes until Southern Connecticut ripped off a 12-2 run – with nine points from Smith – to crack open a 19-10 lead with 12:39 to play in the opening half. Smith's layup that kicked off the run at the 16:08 mark gave the Owls a 9-8 lead and they would never trail again. A Mabrey 3-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play from Borelli stopped the bleeding and cut the Saint Anselm deficit to three just under two minutes later.
A McCahey jumper with 9:15 to go pulled the Hawks within one at 25-24, but Southern Connecticut used a layup from Smith and a 3-pointer from Luke Houston to open its lead back up to six at 30-24 with 7:35 left.
With the lead at seven two minutes later, a three-point play from Santo and a trey from junior Mark Schulze (Townsend, Mass.) again trimmed the deficit to one at 37-36 with 4:30 left. The teams then went back and forth until the Owls closed the half on a 5-1 run to take a 46-41 advantage into the locker room.
Layups from Mabrey and McCahey to open the half once again cut the deficit to just a point, but Deshawn Murphy and Houston quickly answered with consecutive 3s to make it a seven-point game at 52-45 just 1:43 in.
The margin was five when a Nielsen trifecta and McCahey layup tied the game at 57-all with 15:29 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, a 5-0 run – highlighted by another Murphy trey – put Southern Connecticut back in the lead at 64-59 with 14:00 on the clock.
The Owls then used a 12-3 run just over two minutes later to open a 78-65 lead with 9:15 to play. Smith and Greg Langston each chipped in five points during the stretch. The Hawks had whittled the margin to 10 before four straight points from Austin Carter fueled a 13-4 run that put Southern Connecticut in control with its largest lead of the night at 94-75 with 3:13 to go. Michael Mallory netted five points during the run, while Carter and Smith each added four.
Seven points from Nielsen helped the Hawks make their final push with an 8-0 run that sliced it to 96-85 with 1:51 left, but the Owls had built up enough cushion to survive.
Senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) registered nine points (4-9 FG; 1-3 FT) and 12 assists.
Houston and Mallory each dropped 17 for the Owls, while Langston and Murphy added 15 and 14, respectively.
Southern Connecticut outshot Saint Anselm, 50.7 percent (38-75) to 43 percent (34-79), including 56.5 percent (13-23) to 34.6 percent (9-26) from long distance. The Owls also outrebounded the Hawks, 45-39, and held a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points. Saint Anselm owned the slightly better assist-to-turnover ratio (18/10-20/13). The paint was even at 44 points apiece, but Southern Connecticut ran up an 18-4 margin on the fast break.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3:30 p.m. when they travel to take on Pace University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. when they play host to crosstown-rival Southern New Hampshire University in a game that will air live on CBS Sports Network 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.
