Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Saint Anselm College built a 24-point first half lead, but had to fight off a pesky Stonehill College team as the Hawks held on for a 71-66 victory on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action in Manchester, N.H.
The Hawks improved to 19-5 and 14-5 in the NE-10 with the victory and broke a second-place tie with the Skyhawks, who fall to 18-7 and 13-6 in conference games. Saint Anselm turns their attention to Bentley University (18-6, 15-4 NE-10) on Saturday afternoon in a matchup between the top two teams in the Northeast Division of the NE-10. Game time will be 3:30 p.m. and the Hawks will be celebrating their annual Senior Day.
Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) led Saint Anselm with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) joined him in double-figures with 10 points, while Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) and Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) scored nine points apiece and combined for eight rebounds and five assists. Cody Ball (Londonderry, N.H.) also added eight points off the bench.
Carter Smith led Stonehill with a game-high 20 points, while Pierce Cumpstone had a double-double of 13 points and 18 rebounds. Adam Bramanti scored 14 points to go with four rebounds and four steals, and Ryan Logan added 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
The Skyhawks opened the game by jumping out to a 10-4 lead following a baseline jumper from Joel Berroa, but the Hawks closed the gap quickly and tied the game at 10-10 after a layup from Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) with 14:29 to go. Saint Anselm then rattled off a 27-3 run over the next nine-plus minutes of game action to jump out to a 37-13 lead with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Taggart scored 10 points in the run, while Cody Ball added five of his own.
Stonehill chipped away by answering with a 15-3 run to end the opening half to pull within 12 at 40-28. Carter Smith poured in seven points during the run with Joel Berroa adding four of his own.
Adam Brimanti knocked down a three with 12:11 remaining in the second half to cut the deficit to single digits at 48-40, and the Hawks answered with an 8-0 run on triples from Fortin and Ball, as well as a score inside from Taggart to go back up by 16 at 56-40. Victor Joshua kept it a 16-point game with a pair of free throws, but the Skyhawks would not go away as a layup from Cumpstone and a Carter Smith three pulled the Skyhawks to within seven at 64-57 and 5:02 to play.
Smith rolled in a layup on the next Stonehill possession to cut it to five, and Saint Anselm answered again with baskets from Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) and Joshua to make it a 68-59 game. Ryan Logan scored a reverse layup and Pierce Cumpstone followed with a layup inside to make it a five point game and 2:09 remaining.
Logan chased down an offensive rebound which led to a three from Carter Smith and made it a one-possession game at 68-66 and only 39 seconds to play. The Skyhawks were forced to foul, and sent Taggart to the line where he calmly knocked down both freebies to extend the lead to 70-66. After a stop by Saint Anselm, Tim Guers went 1-for-2 at the line to ice the game as the Hawks went on to win 71-66.
Saint Anselm shot 48.1% (26-of-54) from the field on the night, and held Stonehill to just 24-of-71 (33.8%) from the floor. The Skyhawks held a 46-33 advantage on the glass and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points, and also won the turnover battle, 10-12.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
