OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Tim Guers scored a career-high 35 points, including 27 in the second half, helping the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team snap a three game losing-streak with a 100-78 victory at NYIT on Thursday afternoon.
Box Score
The Hawks improve to 7-6 overall and travel to Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Owls. NYIT drops to 4-11 with the setback.
Guers finished the game shooting 14-of-20 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to his new career-best point total, while also adding six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. His 35 points are the most scored in a game since Harrison Taggart dropped 36 points at Bridgeport on Dec. 19.
Also setting a new career-high in points was Cody Ball, who shot 10-of-14 from the field to score 24 points. Taylor Fortin joined the sophomore duo in double-figures with 17 points to go with five rebounds and nine assists. Chris Braley and Kyle Green chipped in eight points apiece, with Braley hauling in a game-high 14 rebounds. Grant Mackay also had a big day on the glass, pulling down nine boards.
Saint Anselm had the second-best shooting day in program history as their 65.6% (40-of-61) mark from the field trailed only the 74.4% (29-of-39) record set by the Hawks on Jan. 13, 1979.
NYIT had four players reach double-figures in scoring led by 17 points and nine rebounds from Jon Feiler. Walter King added 15 points, while Onyekachi Nzerem scored 14 points and Kieran Hamilton netted 11 points.
Cody Ball scored the first five points of the game and a pair of Tim Guers free throws at the 16:38 mark extended the Hawk lead to 9-2 early in the first half. After NYIT trimmed the lead to 9-7 following a three by Kieran Hamilton, Chris Braley and Guers sandwiched layups around another Cody Ball triple to make it a 16-7 game.
A Taylor Fortin three-pointer followed by a Kyle Green layup pushed the Saint Anselm lead out to 31-19 with 9:21 remaining, but the Bears fought their way back into the game, eventually using an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 36-33 and 7:04 to play in the first half.
The two teams traded scores over the next few minutes until an 8-3 run by the Hawks, including six points from Fortin, gave Saint Anselm a 48-38 lead headed into halftime.
Out of the break, the Hawks stretched their lead to 54-40 and forced an NYIT timeout after Tim Guers scored four of the first six points of the period. The Bears cut it back to 10 after a Walter King layup, but Tim Guers knocked down three three-pointers to spark a 9-1 run by the Hawks that put them in front 63-46 with 14:46 to play.
Kieran Hamilton connected on a three-pointer for the home team to make it a 67-54 game and 13:36 remaining, but that would be as close as the Bears would get as another Guers score inside gave the Hawks an 83-63 advantage.
The Hawks lead would get no lower than 15 the rest of the way before Cody Ball put an exclamation point on the victory with a three-pointer in the final minute to give the game its final score of 100-78.
Saint Anselm knocked down 44.4% (8-of-18) of their three-pointers and 70.6% (12-of-17) of their free throws in the win, while outrebounding NYIT 40-33. The Bears shot 40.3% (29-of-72) from the floor, 29.2% (7-of-24) from three and 72.2% (13-of-18) of their free throws in the setback. NYIT did win the turnover margin, committing only 12 missteps to 15 for the Hawks.
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