Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Five players scored in double-figures as the #14 Saint Anselm College men's basketball team rebounded from their second loss of the season with an 87-80 win at American International College in Northeast-10 Conference action in Springfield, Mass.
The Hawks improve to 15-2 overall and 10-2 in the NE-10, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 7-10 and 3-8 in league games.
Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) led five players in double-figures with 19 points and seven rebounds in the victory. Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) scored 14 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.
Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) matched a career-high with eight rebounds while scoring 13 points on the night. Grant Mackay (North Berwick, Scotland) rounded out the high scorers with 10 points, with Ryan Hartung (Haverhill, Mass.) scoring nine points of his own.
American International was led by a game-high 21 points from Trahmier Burrell, while Juwan Moody chipped in 17 points off the bench. Cameron Dobbs also added 15 points while knocking down 4-of-6 three-pointers.
Chris Braley scored three-straight baskets to help give Saint Anselm an early 12-5 advantage with 15:35 to play in the opening half. A 13-0 run by American International, including seven points from Burrell and capped off by a Jayvon Pitts-Young triple, put the Yellow Jackets in front 18-12 with just under 13 minutes remaining. Taggart ended the run with a layup and eventually pulled the Hawks to within three at 21-18.
The two teams continued to trade baskets until Burrell connected on a triple to give the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of the game at 34-26 with 5:36 to play in the first half. Tim Guers went on a personal 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 36-32, but four-straight points from AIC extended the lead back out to eight points. The Hawks ended the period on a 7-2 run, capped off by a Hartung triple with the game clock winding down, to enter the half trailing only 42-40.
Saint Anselm carried the momentum into the second stanza as they opened the period on an 8-0 run to jump out in front 49-42 and force an AIC timeout. The stoppage worked as the Yellow Jackets scored back-to-back baskets to get back to within three following a Burrell layup. Eventually, Tim Guers converted a three-point play with 13:56 remaining to give the Hawks a 56-48 lead.
Seven-straight points by the Yellow Jackets helped AIC climb to within one at 56-55. Ryan Hartung canned a jumper to end the run and the Hawks used a run of their own to go back up by six at 63-57. A layup from McCahey pushed the lead to 68-61, but the Yellow Jackets continued to hang around and a triple from Moody made it a one possession game at 69-66 with six minutes to play.
McCahey scored inside to put the Hawks on top 75-70, and he followed that up with a three from the corner on a drive-and-kick from Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) to give Saint Anselm the 78-71 lead. AIC's Cameron Dobbs converted a four-point play to cut the deficit to 78-75 and it seemed like the Yellow Jackets were poised for one final push, but Dobbs returned the favor on the other end by fouling McCahey and giving the senior a four-point play of his own to go back up by eight.
The Yellow Jackets were forced to foul down the stretch and the Hawks knocked down 5-of-6 at the line to hold off AIC and pick up their 15th win of the season with an 87-80 victory on the road.
Saint Anselm shot 41.2% (28-of-68) from the field during the game and hit 26-of-32 (81.3%) of their free throws. The Hawks held a 47-28 edge in rebounds, and committed just seven turnovers to 10 for the Yellow Jackets.
The Hawks return to action next Tuesday when Saint Anselm hosts Adelphi University at 7:30 p.m.
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