SPARKILL, N.Y. – Junior Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) scored 22 points and classmate Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) registered a double-double during his first game in a Saint Anselm College uniform as the men's basketball team cruised to a 102-79 victory against Molloy College on Friday evening at Saint Thomas Aquinas College's Aquinas Hall Gymnasium.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Taggart matched his career high with the 22 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-4 from downtown, and 4-for-5 shooting from the stripe. He also grabbed five rebounds.
• Braley, a transfer from Division I Stony Brook University, scored 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3-FG) and pulled down 11 boards.
• Senior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) recorded 16 points (6-13 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 3-4 FT), seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks.
• Senior Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.), playing in his first official game in nearly 10 months, notched 15 points (5-12 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds and three assists

For the foes…

• Jaylen Morris led Molloy with 22 points, while Charlie Marquardt added 18.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Molloy jumped out to a 10-2 lead as Morris scored a quick five during the stretch. A Taggart trey and a McCahey bucket pulled Saint Anselm to within three at 15:37 of the opening half. The Saint Thomas Aquinas lead was stretched to seven when five straight Taggart points triggered a 7-0 landslide that tied the game at 14-all with 14:45 remaining.
• The Spartans responded with five straight points, but Saint Anselm crafted a 9-0 run – with the final seven points coming from McCahey – to seize a 23-19 lead midway through the half.
• The Hawks used another 10-2 blitz – with eight points from Braley – to widen the gap to 33-24 with 6:03 to go. An 8-2 run near the end of the half – with four points from Joshua – stretched the lead to 14. Saint Anselm would head into the locker room with a 48-36 advantage.
• The lead was 13 near the beginning of the second half, when a pair of Braley buckets sparked a 6-0 run that put Saint Anselm on top, 61-42, just under five minutes in.
• Saint Thomas Aquinas had whittled the deficit to 13 when a 12-3 rush that featured five different scorers gave the Hawks a 75-53 lead with 7:48 to play.
• Saint Anselm would close the game on an 11-5 run as it went 7-for-8 from the line over the final two minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Junior Grant Mackay (No. Berwick, Scotland) posted career highs in points (8) and rebounds (9) as he was 4 of 5 from the floor.
• Freshman Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) chipped in six points (2-4 FG, 2-2 FT), three rebounds and two assists, while classmate Cody Ball (Londonderry, N.H.) posted five points (2-4 FG, 1-2 3-FG), five assists and two rebounds.
• Saint Anselm handily outshot Molloy, 61 percent (36-59) to 40.8 percent (29-71), including 70.6 percent (12-17) to 37.5 percent (6-16) from downtown.
• The Hawks crushed the Lions on the glass (50-23) and also owned an advantage in second-chance points (20-7).
• Molloy turned Saint Anselm over 19 times and gave it away just six times themselves as they held a 19-6 advantage in points off mistakes.

NOTES

• Saint Anselm begins the season 1-0 for the second straight year.

UP NEXT

• The Hawks return to action Sunday, Nov. 15 (4:30 p.m.) against Saint Thomas Aquinas.

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