Box Score

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The #19-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered an 84-75 setback to Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup in Colchester, Vt. The Hawks drop to 18-5 and 13-5 with the defeat, with the Purple Knights improving to 6-17 and 4-14 in conference games.

Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) led all scorers with 25 points, while Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) added 17 points and four assists to lead the Hawks. Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) had 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists, with Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) chipping in nine points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

The Purple Knights did most of their damage off the bench as Matt Bonds led Saint Michael's with 18 points and nine rebounds. Morrell Gaskins knocked down 5-of-7 shots and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line for 17 points, while Levi Holmes III had 16 points.

Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 20-6 lead as Joshua, Guers, and Taggart connected on three-straight threes and Joshua knocked down a pair of free throws with 12:39 to play. The Purple Knights answered with a 13-1 run capped off by a Matt Bonds layup to cut the deficit to only 21-19. Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) ended the run with a pair of free throws, but the Purple Knights scored three more baskets to take a 25-23 lead to force a Saint Anselm timeout with 4:56 remaining in the first half.

Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) tied the game at 27-all with two free throws and he later made it a 29-29 game with a layup and 3:13 to play. Mike McCahey kept the Hawks within five at 36-31, but Derek Cheatom hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Purple Knights a 38-31 lead headed into the intermission.

Taggart nailed a three to open the second half and back-to-back triples from McCahey put the Hawks on top 41-40. After the senior scored inside to tie the game at 43-43, the Purple Knights rattled off an 8-0 run capped off by a Bonds jumper to go up 51-43.

A Taggart layup followed by two McCahey free throws capped a 12-4 run by the Hawks to tie the game at 55-55, but a quick 5-0 spurt by the Purple Knights gave the home team a 60-55 lead with 8:39 to play. With the Hawks down five at 68-63, McCahey nailed his fourth three of the game to keep the Hawks within one possession and only 4:40 remaining.

Victor Joshua bured a three of his own to cut the deficit to 70-69, and Taggart kept it 73-71 game with a score inside, but a three-point play from Levi Holmes III and another score inside from the freshman put the home team on top 78-71 with 1:14 remaining in the game. Victor Joshua scored on the next Saint Anselm possession, but that would be as close as the Hawks would get as Saint Michael's held on for the 84-75 win.

Saint Michael's ended the game shooting 50% (30-of-60) from the floor compared to 42.9% (24-fo-56) shooting from the Hawks. Both teams collected 32 rebounds on the day, with the Purple Knights holding a slight advantage in turnovers at 8-14. Saint Michael's knocked down 21-of-23 free throws compared to 16-of-25 chances for the Hawks.

The Hawks return to action on Wednesday night when they host Stonehill College in a 7:30 p.m. matchup at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

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