WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) scored a game-high 25 points, pulled down a career-high matching 13 rebounds and hit the game-winning shot as time expired to lift the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to an 85-83 overtime win against the University of New Haven on Wednesday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium.
The Hawks win for the eighth time in their last 10 games to improve to 9-4 on the season, including 7-2 in Northeast-10 play. With Franklin Pierce losing later in the night, Saint Anselm jumped into first place by half a game in the Northeast-10 Northeast Division. The Chargers, who had won eight of their last nine entering the contest, dip to 9-4, 4-3 NE-10.
McCahey, who recorded his third double-double of the season, matched a career high by knocking down 11 shots on 18 attempts, including 1 of 3 from beyond the arc, in addition to sinking both of his free throws. Senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) netted 19 points (7-10 FG; 5-6 3-FG) and pulled down four rebounds, while junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) posted 14 points (5-17 FG; 1-4 3-FG; 3-5 FT) and nine boards to go along with four assists. Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) was also in double figures with 10 points (4-16 FG; 2-8 3-FG) and four helpers.
Jeffery Adkins paced New Haven with 21 points and nine assists, while Eric Anderson tallied 20 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
Trailing, 70-67, with time winding down in regulation, the Hawks tied it when Mabrey overcame a tough shooting day and buried a 3-pointer from just to the right of the top of the key to knot the game with 15.7 seconds on the clock. The Hawks were able to get the ball back after a New Haven turnover, but their straightaway 3-pointer hit the back rim as time expired.
After Justin Exum opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer, Nielsen answered with a trey of his own to keep it tied at 73 with 4:22 remaining. Exum then was fouled shooting another 3-pointer and drilled all three foul shots, but Saint Anselm responded with a 7-1 run that included five points and another 3 from Nielsen to give the Hawks an 80-77 edge with 2:21 left.
Anderson stepped up with a 3-pointer to tie the game and then made 1 of 2 at the line to give New Haven an 81-80 lead with just over a minute to go, but Nielsen drilled his third and final trifecta of the extra session to leap frog the Hawks back into the lead at 83-81 with 53 ticks on the clock.
An Exum jumper re-tied the game with 27 seconds left and Saint Anselm called a timeout eight seconds later. After holding for the final shot, the Hawks funneled the ball to Mabrey in nearly the same exact spot as his game-tying shot came from, but this one bounced off the rim toward the right baseline. McCahey came up with the offensive board, however, and after corralling his own put-back off the side of the backboard, dropped in a one-handed shot off the glass as he fell back toward the paint with time expiring.
It was a fitting way to end the game for the Hawks, who owned a 44-28 advantage on the glass, including 18-3 on the offensive end, which led to a whopping 26-5 boon in second-chance points.
Saint Anselm jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game with all seven points coming from Santo. New Haven answered back with a 10-2 run – highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Ashanti DePass – to grab a 12-9 lead 5:40 in.
The Hawks hit back with a 19-6 barrage that featured five points apiece from Nielsen, senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) and McCahey and opened up a 28-18 margin with 7:55 to play in the opening half. A Jemal Mosley jumper stopped the bleeding temporarily as a Mallios basket sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Hawks their largest lead of the day at 35-20 with 4:30 to go.
After the teams traded pairs of free throws, eight points from Adkins powered a 10-4 run from the Chargers that closed the half and sent them into the break with a 41-32 deficit.
The gap was eight just three minutes into the second half when an Anderson 3-pointer and five straight points from Adkins knotted the game at 46-all with 15:14 remaining. After the teams swapped baskets, Saint Anselm ran off eight straight points, including the last four from McCahey, to open up a 56-48 lead with 11:00 to go.
The New Haven deficit was seven over five minutes later when the Chargers reeled off a 9-2 run to tie the game at 65 with 3:58 left. A McCahey basket 22 seconds later put the Hawks back in the lead, but a pair of layups from Anderson gave the hosts a 69-67 advantage with 1:38 remaining.
On the ensuing Saint Anselm possession, Santo used a spin move from the left elbow to get to the rim, but his layup would not fall and the Chargers had the ball back with a chance to make it a two-possession game. Anderson would miss a layup, but Cyrus James pulled down the offensive rebound and after the Hawks fouled to get into the bonus, DePass went to the line. He sank the first, but missed the second to set up Mabrey's heroics.
Mallios registered nine points (3-4 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 2-4 FT), eight assists and five rebounds.
Exum and DePass finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
New Haven outshot Saint Anselm, 53.4 percent (31-58) to 45.3 percent (34-75), while the Hawks held a 41.7 percent (10-24) to 40 percent (8-20) edge from long range. Points in the paint were tied at 28 and the Chargers committed just eight turnovers with the Hawks giving it away just nine times.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Adelphi University 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.
