WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) scored 19 points, but the University of New Haven erased a 12-point second-half deficit to force overtime and eventually knock off the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team, 78-76, in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium.
The Hawks see their six-game winning streak snapped as they fall to 8-2 on the season. The Chargers, who suffered an 85-83 overtime loss at home to Saint Anselm on Jan. 8 of last season, improve to 7-4.
Santo shot 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-8 at the line, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) supported Santo's effort with 16 points (6-14 FG, 3-5 3-FG, 1-2 FT), six boards, two assists and two thefts. Fellow junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) was also in double figures with 14 points (7-14 FG), seven rebounds and two steals off the bench.
Eric Anderson recorded the first triple-double in New Haven history with 26 points, 28 rebounds (13 offensive) and 10 assists. Jamal Mosley also added 23 points for the Chargers.
McCahey opened up the overtime session with a jumper before Mosley canned a 3-pointer to give New Haven its first lead of the entire game at 70-69 with 2:41 to play. Santo would sink a pair of free throws to put the Hawks back into the lead and after Levy Gillespie hit a 3-pointer, senior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) would answer with his first trifecta of the game to give Saint Anselm a 74-73 edge with 1:33 on the clock.
A pair at the line from Jonny Ocasio leapfrogged New Haven back into the lead before a layup from sophomore Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) swapped the lead once more with the Hawks in front, 76-75, with under a minute remaining. Anderson dropped in a layup with 34 ticks to go and New Haven was back on top, 77-76.
As they did at the end of regulation, the Hawks had the ball with the shot clock off, but this time they needed a bucket to win. A layup try with 20 seconds left was no good, but the Chargers turned the ball over out of bounds near midcourt with 13 seconds left and the visitors had one more crack at it. Mabrey tried another 3 with time running down, but it would not fall.
After Anderson grabbed the rebound and was fouled, he hit 1 of 2 at the line to make it 78-76 and Saint Anselm called timeout with 0.6 seconds on the clock. The Hawks heaved the ball the length of the court to inbound it, but the Chargers knocked it away and sealed the win.
Saint Anselm outshot New Haven, 50.8 percent (32-63) to 44.9 percent (31-69), while the Chargers were better from beyond the arc, 37 percent (10-27) to 33.3 percent (4-12). The Hawks held a 66.7 percent (8-12) to 54.5 percent (6-11) advantage from the line and only turned it over 10 times, while forcing 16 New Haven mistakes for a 24-7 margin in points off turnovers, but the Chargers – behind Anderson, won the glass, 47-31, including 20-8 on the offensive end, for a 26-5 gap in second chance points.
With the game tied at two early on, a 3-pointer from McCahey and a jumper from freshman Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) opened up a 7-2 lead for Saint Anselm just two minutes in. Five points from Mosley fueled a 7-2 counter-run that left the game knotted at 9-all with 15:02 left in the opening half.
The Hawks answered by ripping off nine straight points – with four coming from Joshua and three being added by McCahey – to open up an 18-9 lead with 12:55 remaining. With the gap still nine just under three minutes later, a layup from Anderson and a 3-pointer from Tommy Hunt pulled New Haven within four at 22-18 with 8:36 on the clock.
Saint Anselm again responded, ripping off a 10-2 run – with five points from sophomore Grant Mackay (No. Berwick, Scotland) – to crack open a 32-20 lead with 6:47 to go. A Joshua bucket over three minutes later would give the Hawks their largest lead of the day at 36-23 with 3:31 left. New Haven would score the final seven points of the half, however, to slice its halftime deficit to 36-30.
With the margin still six nearly five minutes into the second half, four Santo points powered a 6-0 run that opened Saint Anselm's lead to 46-34 with 13:47 remaining. The Chargers' deficit was still 12 midway through the stanza when a 12-3 blitz – with five points from Anderson – sliced the gap to just three at 58-55 with 6:36 left.
A Mosley 3-pointer would pull New Haven within two at 60-58 with 6:01 left before an Ocasio layup made it a one-point game at 61-60 with 5:13 on the clock. A McCahey jumper gave the Hawks some breathing room at 65-62 with two minutes to play, but a Hunt trey knotted the game at 65 with under a minute left.
Saint Anselm had a final chance to win it with the game tied at 67 and the shot clock off, but Joshua's jumper from the left wing would not fall and a layup chance for Taggart as time expired after the rebound caromed to him was also no good.
Taggart finished with eight points (4-7 FG) and five rebounds, while Mackay chipped in a career-best seven points (3-4 FG, 1-1 FT), two rebounds, a block and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench. Mabrey added five points (2-9 FG, 1-3 3-FG), two rebounds and two steals.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 3 at 3:30 p.m. when they open 2015 by jumping back into Northeast-10 play and taking on Bentley University. The next home game for the Hawks is Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. when they play host to New Haven in a Northeast-10 matchup 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.
