SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) scored a career- and game-high 19 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to a 98-47 victory against American International College on Saturday afternoon at Butova Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who led wire-to-wire and received at least two points from all 13 players that made it into the game, win for the sixth time in their last eight contests to improve to 13-6 on the season, including 11-4 in Northeast-10 play. The Yellow Jackets drop to 9-12, 6-8 NE-10.
Joshua was perfect from the field as he set career highs in field goals (6) and 3-pointers (3) made, while knocking down all four free throw attempts. Junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) posted 16 points (6-13 FG; 1-1 3-FG; 3-3 FT) and five rebounds, while sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) notched his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points (6-12 FG; 1-1 FT) and 10 boards. Senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) continued his solid play with 13 points (5-6 FG; 1-1 3-FG; 2-2 FT), six assists (no turnovers), three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Marcus Porter led the Yellow Jackets with 13 points, while Jason Perrier added 11.
Saint Anselm opened the game with a balanced 9-2 run that featured four different scorers. AIC countered with an 8-4 stretch that trimmed its deficit to one at 11-10 with 13:11 remaining in the first half, but the Hawks responded with a 25-1 barrage that ripped open a 36-11 advantage with 4:19 to play.
Joshua scored seven points during the stretch, while McCahey netted six and Santo added five. It was the defense that powered the run, however, as it held the Yellow Jackets without a basket for a span of 9:13.
Spencer Braithwaite stopped the bleeding with a layup at the 3:56 mark, but a Santo trey stretched the Saint Anselm lead to a first half-high 26 points at 39-13 with 2:56 to go. The Hawks brought a 41-18 lead into the break.
After Mallios opened the second half with a 3-ball, AIC crafted a 15-2 run – with five points from Porter – to slash the deficit to 13 at 46-33 just 3:30 into the frame. Just over a minute later, however, the Hawks put the game away as they launched a 45-8 run that featured a stretch in which the Yellow Jackets went without a field goal for 7:49.
Two seemingly harmless free throws by Santo jump-started the bombardment before a three-point play from McCahey continued it. The Hawks then scored eight of the next 14 points to bring the score to 63-42 with 10:42 left, which set up the 27-0 blanking that featured 10 points from Joshua and busted the game open at 90-42. Following a Ryan Yearwood jumper with 2:51 left, a 3-pointer from junior Andre King (Springfield, Mass.) and a pair of free throws from freshman Grant Mackay (North Berwick, Scotland) closed the outburst and gave Saint Anselm its largest lead of the day at 95-44 with 1:08 on the clock.
Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) contributed nine points (3-9 FG; 1-2 3-FG; 2-2 FT), five assists and two steals.
Saint Anselm outshot AIC, 55.2 percent (37-67) to 36.5 percent (19-52), including 52.6 percent (10-19) to 23.8 percent (5-21) from downtown, and held a decisive edge at the free throw line, where it went a perfect 14-for-14, while the Yellow Jackets were just 4-for-9. The Hawks controlled the glass (40-27) and the paint (38-22), in addition to owning a much better assist-to-turnover ratio (20/3-9/13), which led to a 24-0 gap in points off turnovers.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. when they play host to crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University in game that will air live on CBS Sports Network from 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.
