COLCHESTER, Vt. – Behind a career-high 30 points from Tim Guers and a career-best 20 points from Cody Ball, the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team picked up their first win of the 2016-17 season with a 104-87 victory over Saint Michael's College on Tuesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action in Colchester, Vt.
Box Score
Guers added a career-best eight assists on the night while shooting 11-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Ball had an all-around night by contributing seven rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocks.
Harrison Taggart joined them in double-figures with 20 points to go with four rebounds, while Chris Braley just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Brenden Vessichio also notched a career-high 10 points in only his third career game, with Taylor Fortin adding nine points and seven assists.
The Hawks (1-2, 1-2 NE-10) shot a blistering 61% (36-of-59) from the floor, including a 15-for-28 (53.6%) showing from beyond the arc. The Hawks held a slight edge in rebounds (29-25) while also committing two less turnovers (17-19) than the Purple Knights (0-5, 0-3 NE-10)
Cody Ball scored the first five points for Saint Anselm and Harrison Taggart netted the next five as a jumper from Taggart made it a 10-7 lead for the Hawks with 16:34 to play in the first half. Cody Ball hit a layup to keep Saint Anselm in front 12-11, but the Purple Knights answered with a 7-0 run to take an 18-12 lead with 13:38 to play.
Taggart tied the game at 18-18 with a layup, and gave Saint Anselm a 21-20 lead with a three-pointer on the next possession. The Hawks eventually built a four-point lead following another Taggart triple, and Tim Guers extended the lead to 29-24 with a jumper at the 8:59 mark. After a pair of Guers free throws, Brenden Vessichio knocked down a triple to put the Hawks on top 34-26 and Cody Ball extended the lead to 37-28 with another three-ball that forced a Saint Michael's timeout.
The Hawks eventually built a 15-point lead following a Grant Mackay free throw, and Saint Anselm took that advantage into the half after Taylor Fortin canned a jumper before the final horn to make it a 52-37 game headed into the break.
Saint Michael's scored six of the first seven points of the second half to trim the Saint Anselm lead to 53-43, and Tim Guers answered by scoring 11 of the Hawks' next 13 points to keep the visitors on top 66-50 with 16:13 to play.
The Purple Knights fought their way back into the game as Colin Richey scored inside to make it a 68-56 game, but back-to-back threes from Taggart and Ball gave the Hawks a 74-56 advantage with just over 13 minutes remaining. Saint Michael's responded by going on a 6-2 run to cut it back to 12, and this time Taylor Fortin scored five-straight points to spark a 7-0 run to stretch the lead back to 19 at 83-64.
Saint Michael's would get as close as 97-84 following a Colin Richey triple, but the Hawks ended the game on a 7-3 run to pull away for the 104-87 victory.
Saint Anselm is back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 30 when they host Bentley College at 7:30 p.m. at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
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