SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior Chris Santo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) scored a team-high 19 points, including 15 in the second half, but the third-seeded Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was toppled by the University of the Sciences, 73-57, in an NCAA East Region quarterfinal at American International College's Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
The Hawks, appearing in their 19th NCAA Tournament, end the season at 19-10 overall, while the Devils, playing in their first NCAA Tourney game ever, improve to 25-5 and advance to Sunday's (5 p.m.) semifinal against second-seeded Southern New Hampshire University. The 57 points marked the Hawks' second lowest scoring output of the year and the fewest points in an NCAA Tournament game for Saint Anselm since a 66-50 loss to Adelphi University in 1999.
Santo, who was battling illness, put forth a gutsy effort as he went 7-for-16 from the field and 5-for-6 at the line, while tallying nine rebounds and two steals. Classmate Roy Mabrey (Belmar, N.J.) finished with 12 points (4-9 FG, 4-5 FT) and nine rebounds, while junior Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) had 11 points (5-11 FG, 1-2 3-FG) to go along with fiveassists and four rebounds.
Garret Kerr registered 40 points (15-29 FG, 3-8 3-FG, 7-10 FT), 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead USciences.
In the first meeting ever between the two programs, Saint Anselm jumped out to a 4-0 lead on baskets by Joshua and sophomore Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) in the first minute, but USciences climbed back to make it a one-point game. Trailing, 8-7, with nearly 12 minutes to play in the opening half, a balanced 6-0 run put the Devils on top, 13-8, with 11:20 remaining.
The teams traded scores three times before a three-point play from Sho Da-Silva opened the largest lead of the game to that point for USciences at 20-14 with 5:58 left. A big left-wing 3-pointer from junior Ryan Hartung (Haverhill, Mass.) sliced the Saint Anselm deficit in half, but the Devils closed the frame with a 13-4 burst, which included 11 points from Kerr and sent USciences into the break with a 33-21 advantage.
The Devils opened the second half with an 8-2 stretch – with the final four points coming from Kerr – that ran the lead to a game-high 18 points at 41-23 with 16:33 to go. The Hawks roared back with a 17-6 counter-run that included eight points from Santo and slashed the deficit to seven at 47-40 with 8:37 on the clock.
That swayed the momentum in the Hawks' favor and got the crowd into it, but Saint Anselm missed a chance to cut it to four or five and the Devils ran off five straight to push the lead to 12 at 52-40 with 7:01 on the clock.
The Hawks then scored on five of the next six possessions, but USciences answered each one to keep it a 12-point game with just under three minutes left. The Devils then went 9-for-12 from the line to seal the win.
Hartung finished with seven points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and four rebounds, while senior Mark Schulze (Townsend, Mass.) chipped in six points (3-9 FG), five steals and four boards.
USciences outshot Saint Anselm, 42.6 percent (26-61) to 37.3 percent (22-59), including 30 percent (3-10) to 11.1 percent (2-18) from downtown. Both shooting percentages were the second lowest of the season for Saint Anselm. Both teams were similar from the line, but the Devils went 18-for-25 (72%), while the Hawks were 11-for-15 (73.3%). The Hawks held a slight edge in the paint, 36-34, while USciences held a 40-37 edge on the glass, owned a 22-8 margin in points off turnovers and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (18/12-10/15).
This marked the final games for seniors Santo, Mabrey and Schulze. Santo finished first in the program's single-season record book with 252 field goals made, while in the career book he is ninth in field goals made (588) and 12th in scoring (1,486). Mabrey ends his career first in minutes played (3,973), fourth in 3-point field goals made (263), fifth in scoring (1,864) and sixth in field goals made (648).
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