MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) hit for a career-high 37 points to lead the 21st-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to Saturday afternoon's 92-75 victory against Assumption College at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks improve to 3-1 on the season, including 1-1 in Northeast-10 play, while the Greyhounds drop to 2-2, 1-1 NE-10. Saint Anselm defeats Assumption for the fifth time in the last six meetings, including the third straight. The Hawks also better their record to 16-6 over the last 22 meetings between the two teams at Stoutenburgh, where they have now won four-in-a-row against the Hounds.
Mabrey was 9-for-21 from the field, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, and made all of his career-high 15 free throw attempts, to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Mabrey was supported by classmate Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.), who tallied 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-7 FT), seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals. Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) added 12 points (4-8 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 3-6 FT) and six boards.
Kamali Bey poured in 25 points to lead Assumption.
The game was tied four times in the opening five minutes before an 8-2 run – with five points from Mabrey – put Saint Anselm in front, 16-10, with 13:18 remaining in the opening stanza. Assumption responded with a balanced 11-4 stretch that put them on top for the first time at 21-20 with 7:10 to go.
The Hounds' only lead of the contest would be short-lived, however, as a Mabrey 3-pointer set off a 15-6 swing that opened a 35-27 lead for the Hawks just 1:58 before halftime. Mabrey netted eight points during the stretch, while sophomore Harrison Taggart (Cuttingsville, Vt.) contributed five. Saint Anselm wound up taking a 39-31 advantage into the break behind a game-high 13 from Mabrey.
Jimmy Zenevitch dropped in a layup to pull the Hounds within six just 11 seconds into the second half, but five straight points from Mabrey fueled a 7-1 run that pushed the Saint Anselm lead to 46-34 just 2:05 in. With the lead still at 12 nearly two minutes later, baskets from Santo and Mabrey widened the gap to 57-41 with 14:06 remaining.
The lead was up to 17 at 62-45 with just under 12 minutes on the clock when an 8-2 rush that included six points from Bey trimmed the Assumption deficit to 64-53 with 8:28 left. Saint Anselm responded nearly a minute later with six straight that bumped the lead back to 17 at 74-57 with just under seven minutes to go.
After a Bey layup halted the run, a 10-3 rush gave Saint Anselm its largest lead of the afternoon at 84-62 with 5:27 remaining. Eight straight from Assumption would pull it within 14, but a 6-0 counter-run from the Hawks made it a 20-point game with a minute-and-a-half to play.
Mabrey wound up piling up 24 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 12-12 FT) in the second stanza. Taggart finished with eight points (3-7 FG, 2-5 3-FG), four rebounds, four assists and two steals, while junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) chipped in nine points (4-6 FG, 1-1 FT) in 13 minutes off the bench.
Assumption outshot Saint Anselm, 53.3 percent (32-60) to 43.1 percent (28-65), while the Hawks narrowly returned the favor from deep, 36.8 percent (7-19) to 33.3 percent (2-6). Saint Anselm also cleaned up at the line, shooting 80.6 percent (29-36), while the Hounds hit at just a 50 percent (9-18) clip. The Hawks held a 36-35 edge on the glass, including 14-8 on the offensive end for a 23-12 margin in second-chance points. Assumption controlled the paint (52-36), but Saint Anselm turned it over just a season-low seven times and forced 11 Greyhound mistakes for a 15-6 gap in points off turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Merrimack College. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Franklin Pierce 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.
