Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Led by a career-high 27 points from senior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.), the #15 Saint Anselm College men's basketball team outlasted Philadelphia University, 77-73, in a non-conference matchup on Thursday afternoon at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
Joshua opened the game a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and finished the day 12-for-18 from the floor en route to his career-best points total. He also added four rebounds, four assists, and a block. Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) scored 17 points, to go with four rebounds, and four assists, with Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) chipping in 16 points and six rebounds. Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
Philadelphia (10-4) jumped out to an early 12-6 lead following a triple from Brendan Kilpatrick, but the Hawks used a 15-0 run – led by nine points from Victor Joshua – to grab a 21-12 lead and force a Rams timeout. The Hawk lead grew to as many as 13 following a three from Harrison Taggart, and a layup from Grant Mackay (North Berwick, Scotland) on a nice feed from Taggart kept it a 10-point advantage with 8:05 to play in the first half.
The Rams came racing back into the game, using a 9-0 run to claw back to within one point at 32-31. Chris Braley and Joshua sandwiched buckets around a Brendan Kilpatrick layup to make it a 36-33 game, and Saint Anselm scored four of the final six points in the period to take a 40-35 lead into the break.
Philadelphia opened the second period on a 9-3 run capped off by a Peter Alexis layup to pull ahead 44-43 with 17:18 to play. McCahey and Joshua combined for a 7-3 run to jump back on top 50-47, and after a back-and-forth battle, the Hawks held a 52-51 advantage with 12:56 remaining.
Back-to-back baskets from Peter Alexis and Kaison Randolph gave the Rams a short-lived 55-52 lead as Harrison Taggart nailed a corner three to tie the game at 55-all. A three-point play from McCahey eventually gave Saint Anselm a 62-59 advantage, and a triple from Taggart pushed the lead back to 65-60 with 2:30 remaining.
Kaison Randolph scored five-straight points to end regulation, including a three with 1:03 remaining to knot the game at 65-all. The Hawks took possession with less than a minute to play, but came away empty-handed as a turnover gave the Rams the ball back with 28 seconds left. After a timeout with 11 seconds showing on the clock, Randolph was set up to take the final shot, but Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) smothered him defensively and did not allow a clean look as the shot hit the rim, sending the game to overtime.
The teams traded blows to start the extra frame as the lead changed hands six times in the opening 2:30 of overtime. McCahey gave the Hawks a 73-71 advantage, but Alexis answered right back for the Rams to tie the game at 73-73.
On the ensuing Saint Anselm possession, the Hawks worked the clock down and Chris Braley went to set a screen for Joshua at the top of the key. Joshua used the screen and dribbled to his right headed for the rim. He switched the ball to his left hand and laid it through to put the Hawks on top 75-73.
The Hawks got a stop on the next Philadelphia possession and the Rams were forced to foul. Joshua knocked down a pair of free throws in the final three seconds of action to extend the lead to 77-73 and help Saint Anselm hang on for the non-league win.
Saint Anselm shot 30-of-62 (48.4%) from the field, but connected on only 5-of-17 (29.4%) three-pointers. Philadelphia won the rebounding battle 40-36, while each team committed 11 turnovers.
The Hawks (10-1) are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Bridgeport University in another non-conference game at 1:00 p.m.
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