BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Junior Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) dropped a game-high 27 points to pace the 21st-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team in Saturday afternoon's 90-75 victory against the University of Bridgeport in their season opener as part of the Bridgeport Men's Basketball Classic at Hubbell Gymnasium.
The Hawks begin the year at 1-0, while the Purple Knights start out 0-1.
McCahey, who finished one point shy of matching his career high, shot 10 of 16 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from long distance, and 3 of 6 from the stripe, while tallying six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) added 19 points on perfect 9 of 9 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds, a career-best six steals and two assists. Classmate Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) was also in double figures with 15 points (6-15 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 1-2 FT), in addition to collecting five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Ernest Rouse led Bridgeport with 20 points.
Rouse converted a layup for an early 2-0 lead, but back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Harrison Taggart (Cuttingsville, Vt.) and McCahey kicked off an 8-0 run and Bridgeport never led again. The Purple Knights would inch within three, but a 16-6 rush – with six points from McCahey – opened the Saint Anselm lead to 23-16 midway through the opening stanza.
After Bridgeport nudged to within 11 nearly three minutes later, Santo scored seven straight points to knock the lead up to 35-17 with 6:43 to go. The margin was 18 nearly three-and-a-half minutes later when Rouse scored eight points as part of a 13-4 run to finish the half and slice the Saint Anselm lead to 47-38. McCahey and Santo each had 15 at the break.
Eddie Asamoah opened the second-half scoring with five straight points to slash the deficit to just four less than a minute in, but Saint Anselm outscored Bridgeport, 20-8, over the following six-plus minutes to seize control and a 67-51 lead with 12:38 remaining. McCahey netted eight points during the stretch, while Mabrey also came alive to add seven.
Bridgeport would get as close as 11 with 8:30 to play, but Saint Anselm again responded with a balanced 14-3 run that included four points each from McCahey, Taggart and sophomore Isaiah Nelsen (No. Andover, Mass.) to grab its largest lead of the night at 88-66 with 3:31 on the clock. The Purple Knights scored the game's final seven points to close the scoring.
Nelsen chipped in eight points on 4 of 5 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench. In his first game in a Saint Anselm uniform, Taggart posted seven points, seven boards and four assists, while freshman Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) also scored seven points to go along with four helpers, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Saint Anselm outshot Bridgeport, 58.7 percent (37-63) to 47.8 percent (32-67), including a sizzling 63.3 percent (19-30) to 48.5 percent (16-33) in the opening half. Both teams were pretty evenly matched from deep, with the Hawks edging the Purple Knights, 45 percent (9-20) to 42.1 percent (8-19). Saint Anselm narrowly won the glass (35-33) and the paint (48-44), while featuring a better assist-to-turnover ratio (23/18-11/19).
The Hawks close out the Bridgeport Classic on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. against Dowling College. The first home game for the Hawks is Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire 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.
