PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) led six scorers in double figures with 17 points as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team clamped down in the second half to post a 76-63 win against Pace University on Saturday afternoon at the Goldstein Fitness Center.
The Hawks win for the sixth time in their last eight contests to improve to 11-5 on the season, including 9-3 in Northeast-10 play, while the Setters sink to 3-13, 1-9 NE-10.
Nielsen went 5-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-10 from long distance, and made three of his four free throws, while pulling down six rebounds. Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) netted 15 points (4-14 FG; 1-5 3-FG; 6-8 FT), including 10 in the second half, and collected six boards. Senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) tallied 11 points (4-5 FG; 3-3 FT), eight rebounds and five assists, while junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) also added 11 points (4-6 FG; 3-5 FT). Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) chipped in 10 points (1-5 FG; 1-3 3-FG; 7-8 FT) and four assists, with senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) also registering 10 points (4-4 FG; 2-4 FT).
Jonathan Merceus led the Setters with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Trailing 15-12 early on, the Hawks grabbed their first lead of the game when Nielsen followed a Santo layup with a 3-pointer that made it 17-15 with 12:25 remaining in the opening half. After the teams traded baskets, Pace reeled off five straight points to grab the lead back at 22-19 with 9:47 left.
A Merceus basket nearly three minutes later nudged the Setters' lead to five, but a Mabrey 3-pointer and one of two at the line from Santo trimmed the Saint Anselm deficit to 26-25 with 5:28 on the clock.
Another Merceus bucket almost two minutes later put Pace in front by four, but a pair of Borelli free throws and Nielsen's third trifecta of the half gave the Hawks the lead back at 34-33 with 2:12 to play. The lead would be short-lived, however, as a pair of Jamaal James freebies returned the lead to Pace and began a 6-2 run that closed the half and sent the Setters into the break with a 39-36 edge.
Pace opened the second half by extending the run to 9-2 to open their largest lead of the day at 42-36 just 48 seconds in. The margin was five nearly three-and-a-half minutes later when a Borelli layup and another Nielsen 3-ball knotted the game at 46 with 14:17 remaining.
Two ties and two lead changes later, the Hawks were behind 52-50 when four points from McCahey fueled an 8-0 run that put the visitors back in the lead for good at 58-52 with 6:42 to go. McCahey's layup at the 9:44 mark made it 54-52 and Saint Anselm never trailed again.
After a James bucket stopped the bleeding, the Hawks kept on rolling with a 10-2 run that featured five points each from Mabrey and McCahey and put the game away with Saint Anselm in front, 68-56, with 1:13 left. The lead did not shrink below double digits the rest of the way and McCahey's free throw with 38 seconds left first gave the Hawks what would be their largest lead of the game at 13 (71-58).
Saint Anselm outshot Pace, 48.9 percent (23-47) to 39.1 percent (25-64), including 52.4 percent (11-21) to 29.4 percent (10-34) in the second half. The Hawks made three more treys (6) than the hosts (3) and also feasted at the free throw line (24-32), while the Setters went 10-for-12 at the stripe. Saint Anselm won the glass (37-32), while Pace owned the paint (36-26) and held a 15-9 advantage in points off turnovers after giving it away just 10 times and forcing 14 Saint Anselm mistakes.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. when they travel to take on Le Moyne College. 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 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
