COLCHESTER, Vt. – Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) poured in 27 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to Thursday evening's 86-85 win against Saint Michael's College at the Ross Sports Center.

The Hawks win their eighth game in the last 10 contests, including their fourth straight, to improve to 15-6 on the season and 13-4 in Northeast-10 play. The Purple Knights, who came into the game 9-1 at home, have their five-game winning streak snapped as they drop to 16-6, 11-6 NE-10.

Mabrey, who had not scored 20 points in a game since Dec. 10, scored 20 in the second half on 7 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. He finished 10 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 10 from deep, and 2 of 2 at the stripe, to go along with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks.

Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) finished just shy of a double-double with 19 points (6-16 FG; 1-5 3-FG; 6-7 FT) and nine rebounds, while senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.), who started out 6-for-6 from long distance, netted 18 points (6-11 FG; 6-10 3-FG) and collected seven rebounds. Junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) added 13 points (6-13 FG; 1-3 FT) – all in the second half on 6 of 9 shooting – six boards, four steals and two assists.

Mike Holton Jr. led Saint Michael's with 27 points and seven rebounds.

Saint Michael's erased an eight-point deficit in just under two minutes to grab an 83-82 lead on a James Cambronne jumper with 1:25 to play in regulation. The Hawks answered when Mabrey found Santo inside for a layup with 43 seconds left, but Holton Jr. scored on a layup of his own just 13 seconds later to give the Purple Knights an 85-84 lead. Santo again went to work inside as senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) found him for another layup that gave Saint Anselm the lead back at 86-85 before Saint Michael's called timeout with 18.2 seconds on the clock.

The Purple Knights ran the clock down to under four seconds when Cambronne took a shot in close, but the ball caromed off the rim and was batted around before Mallios punched it back toward the perimeter as time ran out.

Saint Michael's outshot Saint Anselm, 50 percent (32-64) to 43.1 percent (31-72), including 60 percent (15-25) to 50 percent (16-32) in the second half and 55.6 percent (10-18) to 40.6 percent (13-32) from long distance. Both teams made 11 free throws, but the Hawks did it in four fewer attempts (15). The Hawks won the glass, 40-38, including 10-5 on the offensive end, and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (17/10-11/10), while holding advantages in second chance points (13-4) and points off turnovers (14-9). The Purple Knights scored more in the paint (30-24).

The Hawks trailed 7-6 early on when they went Nielsen-Mabrey-Nielsen for 3 to grab a 15-7 lead 5:09 in. A 5-0 spurt would get Saint Michael's to within three, but a 10-3 run from Saint Anselm – sparked by four points from McCahey and capped by 3s from Nielsen and sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) – gave the visitors their largest lead of the night at 25-15 with 11:33 remaining in the opening half.

Saint Michael's had whittled the lead to eight when a 15-3 barrage – with six points from Holton Jr. and four from Cambronne – put the hosts back in the lead at 38-34 with 2:51 to go. The Purple Knights would bring a 42-40 lead into the locker room.

After McCahey opened the second-half scoring with a three-point play, Saint Michael's used a 7-1 spurt to open a 49-44 lead just 2:30 in. The Hawks answered with a 10-3 counter run that included eight points from Mabrey and gave the Hawks a 54-52 lead with 15:00 remaining.

Back-to-back 3s from Holton Jr., however, touched off an 11-2 charge that opened the Purple Knights' largest lead of the contest at 63-56 with 12:36 to play. The Hawks would twice cut it to four before a 19-5 blitz – with seven points each from Mabrey and Santo and five from McCahey – put them in control at 82-74 with 3:15 left.

Saint Michael's would not lay down, however, as it used five points from Corey Crawford II and four from Cambronne to craft a 9-1 run that gave it a one-point lead and set up the final dramatic minute.

Crawford II finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Cambronne added 15 points and seven boards.

The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host Franklin Pierce University at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium, with the winner taking over sole possession of first place in the Northeast-10 Northeast Division. 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.