MANCHESTER, N.H. – Cody Ball matched a career-high 22 points to lead Saint Anselm to their third-straight win with an 88-59 victory over Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.
Box Score
The Hawks improve to 3-2 overall and in the NE10, while Merrimack drops to 6-2 and 3-1 in league games. Saint Anselm is back in action Tuesday night when they travel to Assumption College for a 7:30 p.m. NE10 game.
Ball ended the night shooting 9-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from behind the arc en route to matching his career high point output. He also added four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Taylor Fortin joined him in double-figures with 16 points and six assists, while Tim Guers and Harrison Taggart added 14 points and six rebounds apiece and combined for 12 assists.
Grant Mackay and Brenden Vessichio chipped in seven points apiece off the bench, with Mackay hauling in a team-best eight rebounds to go with two blocks.
Merrimack was paced by 15 points, four rebounds, seven assists and five steals from Juvaris Hayes. Anthony Barry added 11 points and six rebounds, while Jaleel Lord was the final Warrior in double-figures with 10 points.
A Chris Braley jumper at the 15:02 mark of the first half gave Saint Anselm a 14-4 lead early in the game before a pair of Grant Mackay free throws nearly seven minutes later put the Hawks in front 26-11 with 8:35 remaining in the period.
Merrimack would get as close as nine at 30-21 following a Hayes layup, but an 8-2 run by the Hawks to end the half – including threes from Taggart and Fortin – gave Saint Anselm a 38-23 lead headed into the break.
The Hawks scored the opening five points of the period as a Tim Guers three-point play put Saint Anselm in front 43-23 only 57 seconds into the second half. Jaleel Lord capped a 6-0 run by the Warriors with a three-pointer to make it a 43-29 game, but Ball answered with another triple to keep the home team in front 46-29 with 16:10 remaining.
A Devon Moore three-pointer followed by a Ryan Boulter tip-in pulled Merrimack closer at 51-38, and this time Ball and Fortin connected on back-to-back threes to spark an 11-1 run by the Hawks to put them in front 62-39 with 10:25 remaining. The Warriors would only get as close as 17 the rest of the way as Saint Anselm built leads in excess of 29 points en route to the 88-59 victory.
Saint Anselm shot 55.2% (32-of-58) from the floor and 55% (11-of-20) from behind the arc in the win. Merrimack was held to 39.7% (23-of-58) shooting and connected on only 3-of-17 (17.6%) of their three-pointers. The Hawks held a commanding 42-25 edge on the glass, but committed 19 turnovers to just 12 for the visitors.
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