MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) scored a game-high 23 points, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered a 74-70 Senior Night loss to Stonehill College on Tuesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks, who fall to 8-3 over their last 11 and see their six-game home winning streak snapped, end the regular season at 17-8 overall and 14-7 in Northeast-10 play. Saint Anselm has earned the Northeast Division's No. 2 seed and will have a first round bye Friday before hosting Le Moyne College, the Southwest's No. 3 seed, in an NE-10 quarterfinal Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks, who snap a four-game skid against Saint Anselm, improve to 19-8, 14-7 NE-10. Stonehill is seeded third in the Northeast and will travel to the Southwest's second seed, American International College, in the quarterfinal round.
Mabrey went 7-for-16 from the field, including 6-for-12 from downtown, and 3-for-4 at the line, while grabbing three rebounds. Junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) tallied 13 points (2-13 FG, 9-11 FT), six rebounds and three assists, while senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) notched his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points (5-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 boards and two steals.
Adam Bramanti scored 20 points for Stonehill, while Ryan Logan added 18.
Stonehill, which never trailed in the contest, scored the game's first 13 points – with eight of those coming from Logan – over the opening 4:35. Saint Anselm finally responded with a 10-2 counter-run that featured four points from junior Ryan Hartung (Haverhill, Mass.) and pulled the Hawks within 15-10 with 12:56 remaining in the opening half.
A quick 11-0 burst – powered by six points from Carter Smith – gave Stonehill its largest lead of the night at 26-10 with 9:46 to play. Saint Anselm again answered, this time with a 20-4 blitz – with six points from Mabrey, who led seven different scorers during the stretch – that knotted the game at 30 with 2:51 on the clock.
Six straight points from Bramanti were answered by a four-point play from Mabrey as he drilled a left-wing 3 before he was sent to the deck by Bramanti with 1:50 left. Mabrey drained the free throw to pull Saint Anselm within 36-34. Stonehill would score four of the final six points of the half to bring a 40-36 lead into the locker room.
Logan began the second half with a basket that nudged the lead to six, but an 8-2 run from the Hawks, which received four points from Mabrey, tied the game at 44-all with 15:54 remaining. Stonehill would craft a 10-2 counter-run and go in front, 54-46, with 13:13 to go.
The Hawks again stood up to the challenge as back-to-back Mabrey trifectas triggered their own 10-2 wave that left the game tied at 56 with 9:10 to play. Logan snapped the tie with a layup and Smith sank a 3 before Mabrey answered with a 3 of his own to make it a two-point game at the 6:43 mark.
The margin was three nearly four minutes later when a Bramanti triple gave Stonehill a 69-63 lead with 2:04 on the clock. With the lead still six, Joshua converted a three-point play to help the Hawks slice their deficit in half at 73-70 with 23 seconds to go.
Bramanti missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Saint Anselm would come up empty on a game-tying 3-point attempt with six seconds on the clock. Pierce Cumpstone would then hit 1 of 2 at the line and Mabrey's attempt to re-kindle the four-point play magic from the first half was no good.
Senior Mark Schulze (Townsend, Mass.) chipped in six points (3-4 FG), three rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) tallied five points (2-10 FG, 1-7 3-FG), six boards, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Grant Mackay (No. Berwick, Scotland) posted four points (1-1 FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds in seven minutes, while Hartung also added four points (1-3 FG, 2-2 FT).
Smith netted 15 points for the Skyhawks.
Stonehill outshot Saint Anselm, 40.9 percent (27-66) to 34.4 percent (22-64), including 50 percent (12-24) to 29.6 percent (8-27) from long range. The Hawks cleaned up at the free throw line, going 18-for-22 (81.8%) compared to 8 of 12 (66.7%) for the Skyhawks. Stonehill held advantages in the paint (30-22) and on the glass (44-42), while Saint Anselm had a better assist-to-turnover ratio (12/11-10/14).
Seniors Mabrey, Santo and Schulze were honored in a ceremony prior to the game.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. when they play host to Le Moyne in a Northeast-10 quarterfinal matchup at Stoutenburgh. Because pricing is set by the Northeast-10 Conference, no passes or complimentary tickets will be available. 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.
