NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) recorded 24 points and junior Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) registered his fourth double-double of the season, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team dropped Tuesday evening's 120-100 decision to Southern Connecticut State University at the Moore Field House.
The Hawks, who reached a season high with the 100 points just three days after setting a season best with 97 points at Adelphi, drop to 9-5 on the season, including 6-4 in Northeast-10 play. The defending NE-10 Champion Owls improve to 13-3, 8-1 NE-10.
Santo shot 10-for-14 from the floor, including 1-for-1 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-3 at the stripe, while pulling down six rebounds and handing out three assists. McCahey scored 22 points (9-16 FG, 2-6 3-FG, 2-3 FT), collected 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and added two assists and two blocks. Senior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) netted 19 points (6-14 FG, 3-8 3-FG, 4-5 FT) to go along with four assists and three rebounds, while junior Ryan Hartung (Haverhill, Mass.) was also in double figures with 10 points (2-4 FG, 2-2 3-FG, 4-4 FT).
Tylon Smith led all scorers with 32 points for the Owls, while Michael Mallory added 27. Luke Houston and Desmond Williams each scored 22 points.
In its first meeting with the Owls since last season's loss in the NCAA East Region final, Saint Anselm jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first 4:30 behind five points each from Santo and Mabrey. The Hawks led 19-9 a minute later when a pair of Williams 3-pointers highlighted a 12-2 Southern Connecticut run that gave the Owls their first lead of the game at 21-19 with 12:36 remaining in the opening half.
The Hawks responded with five straight to open a 24-21 edge with 11:00 left, but Southern Connecticut hit back with a 45-12 blitz, which included 13 points from Mallory, 12 from Houston and 10 from Smith, that closed the first half with the Owls on top, 62-36.
Eight points from Santo powered a 10-2 Saint Anselm run that opened the half and trimmed its deficit to 64-46 just over two minutes in. Just over two minutes later, however, a pair of Mallory treys highlighted an 11-3 stretch that gave the Owls an 84-56 advantage with 14:13 to play.
After Saint Anselm had cut it to 22, a 13-5 run – with five points from Houston and four from Deshawn Murphy – ballooned Southern Connecticut's lead to its largest of the night at 102-72 with 9:15 left. The margin fluctuated between 23 and 29 over the next six-plus minutes before the Hawks closed the game on a 10-3 run that included seven points from Hartung.
Sophomore Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) chipped in nine points (4-9 FG, 1-5 3-FG), four rebounds and two assists, while freshman Kyle Green (Woodbury Heights, N.J.) added four points (2-5 FG) and six boards in eight minutes off the bench. Junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) tallied six points (1-8 FG, 4-4 FT), three rebounds and three assists.
Southern Connecticut outshot Saint Anselm, 63.5 percent (47-74) to 46.1 percent (35-76), including 67.9 percent (19-28) to 32.1 percent (9-28) from long distance, while the Hawks held a large advantage at the line at 21 of 28 (75%) to 7 of 11 (63.6%). Saint Anselm also owned a 40-34 advantage on the boards, including 13-2 on the offensive end for a 17-0 landslide in second chance points. The Owls won the paint (48-40) and had a better assist-to-turnover ratio (24/11-17/12).
Mabrey finished the night with 1,606 career points to pass Brendan McCarthy, who scored 1,595 points from 1992-96, for 10th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
The Hawks return to action 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.
