NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Dominic Borelli (Westbrook, Maine) recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the third-seeded Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to an 82-68 victory against seventh-seeded Bloomfield College in an NCAA East Regional semifinal matchup Sunday evening at Southern Connecticut State University's Moore Field House.
The Hawks, who have now won 11 of their last 12, advance to their first regional final since 2000 to improve to 22-7 on the season. Saint Anselm, which defeated Adelphi University, 76-72, in the 2000 East Regional final at Southern Connecticut to earn its first and only Elite Eight berth in program history, will take on top-seeded Southern Connecticut on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on the Owls' home floor. The Deacons finish their season at 21-9.
Borelli was 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-4 at the line in a career-high 33 minutes off the bench. The 12 shot attempts give him 100 for the season and qualify him for the program's single-season field goal percentage list, which he is now at the top of with a .680 mark. Sophomore Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) registered 16 points (6-14 FG; 1-3 3-FG; 3-6 FT) and eight boards, while senior John Nielsen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) netted 12 points (4-9 FG; 4-8 3-FG) to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Nielsen's four 3-pointers give him 105 for the season, which ties the program's single-season record set by Matt Cahill during the 2005-06 campaign.
Junior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) kicked in 13 points (4-14 FG; 1-6 3-FG; 4-4 FT) and added four rebounds and two steals, while senior Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) tallied 11 points (5-8 FG; 1-2 FT), seven rebounds and eight assists.
Marvin Williams led all scorers with 25 points for Bloomfield.
Saint Anselm jumped out to a 6-0 lead as part of a 9-2 run over the game's first 1:22. With the margin still at seven 1:30 later, Bloomfield used six points from Claude Blue to craft a 9-2 counter run that knotted the game at 15-all with 13:50 remaining in the opening half. It was the first of three ties in the game, which Bloomfield never held a lead in.
The Hawks then used three straight points from sophomore Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.), followed by three more from Borelli, to launch an 8-0 stretch that opened a 23-15 lead with 10:16 to go. With the gap still eight less than three minutes later, 3-pointers from Dondre Whitmore and Williams slashed the deficit to 28-26 with 7:12 left.
After the teams traded scores, a 9-4 spurt – with four points from McCahey – pushed the Saint Anselm lead back to 41-32 with 2:40 to go. Bloomfield answered with baskets from Williams and Kevin Udo to trim the deficit to five less than 30 seconds later and would go into the break trailing, 47-41. The Hawks improved to 16-2 when leading at halftime.
The Deacons scored seven of the second half's opening 10 points to climb back within two at 50-48 less than four minutes in. It remained a two-point game at 54-52 with 14:01 remaining when both teams failed to score for the following 4:42. A pair of Williams free throws finally snapped the drought and tied the game at 54 with 9:17 to play.
Baskets from junior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Mabrey powered a 5-2 spurt that opened up some breathing room for Saint Anselm at 59-56, but a pair of free throws from John Powell would slice it to one with 5:57 left.
From there, however, the Hawks would use a balanced attack of five different scorers to fuel a 16-2 run that put the game away. Nielsen's record-tying triple closed the run with Saint Anselm leading 75-60 with 2:15 on the clock. A Borelli layup with 27 seconds left gave the Hawks their largest lead of the day at 82-66.
Santo chipped in seven points (3-4 FG; 1-3 FT) and four boards, while Joshua also added seven points (1-5 FG; 5-7 FT) and three rebounds.
Saint Anselm outshot Bloomfield, 45.5 percent (30-66) to 33.8 percent (24-71), including 31.6 percent (6-19) to 23.5 percent (4-17) from behind the arc. The Deacons won the glass (49-45), while the Hawks won the paint (40-36), had a better assist-to-turnover ratio (12/12 to 8/11) and held advantages in points off turnovers (8-2) and second-chance points (12-6).
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. when they take on Southern Connecticut at Moore Field House as they try and advance to their first Elite Eight since 2000, when they won the East Regional at Southern Connecticut. 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.
