Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The #21-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking 70-68 setback in double-overtime at Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at the SNHU Fieldhouse in Manchester, N.H.
SNHU's BJ Cardarelli got a runner to rattle in as time expired in the second overtime to lead the Penmen (18-10, 14-7 NE-10) to the win. Saint Anselm finishes the regular season at 20-6 overall and 15-6 in conference games and will host an NE-10 Quarterfinal game on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Hawks led by 18 points and seven rebounds from Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.). Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) and Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) added 16 points apiece while combining for 14 rebounds and four steals. Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. All five starters logged 40+ minutes on the night led by 47 minutes each for Guers and McCahey.
Southern New Hampshire was led by 22 points from Rodney Sanders, while Chris Walters had a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds. Devin Gilligan rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.
A 7-0 run by the Hawks that included five points from Joshua gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 56-41 with 10:32 remaining in regulation. Southern New Hampshire answered with a 13-2 run with Sanders capping off the stretch with a triple off a turnover in the back court to pull the Penmen to within four at 58-54.
Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) and Joshua sandwiched scores around a Chris Walters dunk to keep it a six point game with 3:01 to play, but the Penmen scored the final six points of the second half to tie it at 62-all with 1:43 remaining. Devin Gilligan and Chris Walters each went 2-for-2 at the free throw line, while Daquaise Andrews scored inside.
Both defenses stood tall during the final minutes of the stanza and the Hawks had a shot-clock violation on their final possession with 13 seconds remaining. SNHU came down the other end and Sanders was bothered into a tough shot that fell off the left side of the rim as time expired and sent the game into overtime.
In the first OT, Gilligan knocked down a pair of freebies in the opening minutes to give the Penmen a 64-62 lead. The Hawks snapped a nearly six minute scoring drought from the 3:01 mark of the second half when Harrison Taggart canned a jumper to tie the game at 64-all with 2:27 to play. Chris Walters stole an offensive rebound to put the Penmen back on top by two, but Braley spun inside on the next Hawk possession to tie the game again.
Saint Anselm got a stop on the final SNHU possession and came up the floor with just over 30 seconds to play. SNHU had a foul to give, and Adrian Oliveira fouled Joshua before he could get a shot off and less than five seconds to play. The Hawks called timeout and drew up an out of bounds play that led to a corner three for Taggart. His attempt went wide of the mark, but McCahey was able to tip the miss at the basket, which fell off the rim and led to another overtime.
There was little offense in the final period, but Chris Braley put the Hawks on top 68-66 early in the second OT. Andrews eventually rolled in a layup for SNHU with 2:32 remaining to knot the game at 68-all. After the teams traded several empty possessions, McCahey had to force a jumper with the shot clock winding down and only 26 seconds remaining but he missed the shot, with Sanders pulling down the board and leading to a SNHU timeout and the shot clock turned off.
Out of the break, Sanders dribbled out the clock and made his move with less than 10 seconds to play. The senior dribbled to his right where he ran into a trap and dropped the ball off to Cardarelli. Cardarelli drove left and lofted a runner toward the basket where it rolled around on the rim before falling through as the horn sounded, giving the Penmen the 70-68 win.
The Hawks were held to a season-low 39.2% (29-of-74) shooting on the night, with the Penmen not faring any better at 34.7% (25-of-72) from the field. Saint Anselm held a 51-42 edge in rebounding, but committed 23 turnovers compared to 15 for the Penmen.
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