GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Senior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) poured in a game-high 29 points to lead four scorers in double figures as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team shook free from a short slump with Saturday afternoon's 97-78 triumph against Adelphi University at the Center for Recreation and Sport.
The Hawks, who led wire-to-wire, snap a three-game losing skid – their longest in over three seasons – to improve to 9-4 on the season, including 6-3 in Northeast-10 play. The Panthers lose their fifth straight to sink to 4-10, 1-7 NE-10.
After shooting just 17 percent from 3-point land – their lowest mark in nearly two seasons – last time out Wednesday, the Hawks dusted themselves off and hit a season-best 48.1 percent (13-27) of their 3-point tries as part of an overall 57.1 percent (36-63) shooting afternoon that ranks second best through the first 13 games of the season. The 97 points are a season high for Saint Anselm.
Mabrey shot 11-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-6 from long distance, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, to go along with five rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Junior Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) also turned in an impressive bounce-back performance with 17 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 3-5 FT) and six boards, while freshman Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) netted a career-best 15 points (4-7 FG, 4-5 3-FG, 3-4FT) and dished two assists in 19 minutes off the bench. Senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was also in double figures with a season-low 12 points. After carrying much of the offensive load all season long, Santo was able to let his teammates do most of the damage, but he still managed to go a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor, including 1 of 1 from deep, and 1 of 2 at the line, while pulling down four boards and handing out a pair of assists in 25 minutes.
Michael Coffey paced Adelphi with 23 points.
Saint Anselm let out some frustration right from the tip, ripping off the first 13 points of the game – highlighted by 3-pointers from Santo, sophomore Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) and junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) – over the opening 4:27. With the gap at 11 almost two minutes later, treys from McCahey and Mabrey fueled an 8-0 stretch that widened the Saint Anselm lead to 25-6 with 12:46 remaining in the opening half.
A pair of baskets from Coffey sparked a 6-0 run that pulled Adelphi within 13, but layups from Santo and fellow senior Mark Schulze (Townsend, Mass.) later in the half gave the Hawks a 35-18 lead with just under six minutes to go.
Adelphi responded with a 14-5 run that featured five points from Ryan DeNicola and four from Damon Coleman to trim the deficit to eight at 40-32 with less than three minutes to go before the half. With the margin still at eight with just over a minute to play, the Hawks would score the final nine points of the stanza as Mabrey, McCahey and Schulze drained 3-pointers to send Saint Anselm into the locker room with a 54-37 advantage. Mabrey led all scorers with 17 at the half.
A Coffey 3-pointer nine seconds in sparked a 9-2 run that brought Adelphi back within 10 just over three minutes in, but an 8-2 counter-run nudged the Saint Anselm lead to 18 at 70-52 with 13:29 left.
The Panthers reeled off six straight to make it a 12-point game, but the Hawks again answered, this time with a 13-2 blitz – with four points each from Mabrey and Fortin – to take a commanding 83-60 lead with 8:35 on the clock.
With the margin still at 23 nearly four minutes later, a McCahey bucket and a three-point play from sophomore Grant Mackay (No. Berwick, Scotland) gave the Hawks their largest lead of the afternoon at 97-69 with under four minutes remaining. Adelphi would score the final nine points of the contest to close the scoring.
Joshua tallied seven points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3-FG), four assists, two rebounds and two steals in his second straight start, while Schulze also finished with seven points (3-8 FG, 1-4 3-FG), five rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Taggart posted five points (2-4 FG, 1-2 3-FG), four boards and two assists, while Mackay chipped in five points (2-2 FG, 1-1 FT) in six minutes.
Adelphi shot a solid 51.5 percent (35-68), including 59.4 percent (19-32) in the second half, but Saint Anselm hit at a 64.5 percent (20-31) clip in the opening stanza, including 62.5 percent (10-16) from long range, and then shot "just" 50 percent (16-32) in the second half. The Hawks also made more free throws (12) than the Panthers had attempts (8), while holding a 70.6 percent to 50 percent advantage from the line. Saint Anselm controlled the glass (38-28), while Adelphi won the paint (52-44), but the Hawks turned in a better assist-to-turnover ratio (24/15-18/14).
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Southern Connecticut State University. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3:30 p.m. when they play host to Pace University 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.
