Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The #7 Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered a 90-81 setback at Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup in North Andover, Mass.
The Hawks (17-4, 12-4 NE-10) have dropped two-straight regular season games for the first time since January of 2015, while Merrimack improved to 12-10 and 7-9 in league games.
Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) scored a team-high 23 points, while Victor Joshua (New Haven, Conn.) added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) had 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, with Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) joining them in double-figures with 11 points.
Merrimack was paced by 28 points, five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks from Gelvis Solano. Troy Hammel added 16 points, while JT Strickland had 13 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Anthony Barry and Kyle Howes scored 10 points apiece for the Warriors.
The two teams were tied at 9-9 with 15:07 remaining in the first half before a 9-0 run by the Warriors forced a Saint Anselm timeout with Merrimack on top 18-9. The Hawks started their comeback with a pair of Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) free throws and a jumper from McCahey that cut the deficit to only 21-15 with 9:44 to play in the period. A Ryan Boulter triple for the Warriors made it a 29-20 game just over two minutes later.
McCahey, Joshua, and Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) each scored inside to pull the Hawks back to within one possession at 29-26. Solano ended the run with a jumper to go back on top by five, but Taylor Fortin canned a triple to make it a 31-29 game with 4:31 remaining. After another Solano jumper, Victor Joshua nailed a triple and Chris Braley went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe as the Hawks pulled even with Merrimack at 33-33.
Victor Joshua kept the score even at 35-all with a jumper and Taggart buried a three less than a minute later to give the Hawks a 38-35 lead. Solano would score the final bucket of the half as Saint Anselm took a 38-37 lead into the half.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle as a three from Mike McCahey at the 15:47 mark put the Hawks on top 49-45. Every time Saint Anselm tried to pull away, Merrimack answered right back as Troy Hammel scored inside and Solano nailed a free throw to keep it a one point game at 49-48. Tim Guers gave Saint Anselm a 57-52 lead with a layup, but back-to-back baskets from Hammel and a JT Strickland layup put the Warriors back in front at 58-57.
McCahey buried another triple with 8:17 to play, but Troy McLaughlin responded with a three of his own to tie the game at 65-all. The two traded three-balls a few minutes later, this time McCahey answering from beyond the arc to tie the game at 72-72.
As the game entered the final five minutes of play, the Warriors held a 75-72 lead after a free throw from Solano. Chris Braley scored inside to make it a 75-74 game, but Solano scored inside to keep the Warriors in front by three at 77-74. Tim Guers hit a layup with 2:42 remaining to get the Hawks to 79-78, and after a layup from Anthony Barry, Mike McCahey canned a triple to tie the game at 81-81 with only 1:38 to play in regulation.
Merrimack ended the game on a 9-0 run, with Solano burying a three and Troy Hammel scoring four points, to help the Warriors pull away for the 90-81 victory.
The Hawks shot 51.9% (28-of-54) from the field in the game and knocked down 10-of-25 (40%) of their three point attempts. Merrimack shot 47.2% (34-of-72) from the floor and won both the rebounding battle (37-31) and turnover margin (9-21) in the game. The Warriors turned the 21 Saint Anselm turnovers into 22 points.
Saint Anselm returns to action on Wednesday night when they host Assumption College at 7:30 p.m. at the Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
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.
