NEW HAVEN, Conn. – For the second-straight game, Tim Guers surpassed the 30-point plateau as the sophomore netted 34 points to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to an 85-70 victory over Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at the Moore Field House in New Haven, Conn.
Box Score
The Hawks have now won two-straight to improve to 8-6 overall and 5-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while Southern Connecticut falls to 12-5 and 8-2 in league games. It was the first win for Saint Anselm over Southern Connecticut since Jan. 23, 2013.
Guers finished the day shooting 9-of-18 from the field while hitting 14-of-18 free throws to go with five rebounds and four assists. Taylor Fortin scored a career-high 21 points to go with five rebounds and three assists, while Brenden Vessichio was the final Hawk in double-figures with 10 points. Chris Braley added eight points and seven rebounds, while Grant Mackay had nine points and Cody Ball pulled in seven boards of his own.
Southern Connecticut was led by 22 points from Jerry Luckett, Jr., while Michael Mallory added 18 points, and Isaiah McLeod chipped in 13 points. Joey Wallace scored 10 points to go with four steals.
The Hawks fell into an 8-3 hole early in the game, but responded with an 8-0 run of their own capped by a Chris Braley layup that made it an 11-8 game with 14:39 to play in the first half. The two teams continued to trade baskets until a Luckett Jr. layup at the 8:35 mark tied the game at 23-all.
Saint Anselm used a 9-0 run over the next two minutes of action to build a 32-23 lead with 6:27 remaining. Vessichio scored five points during the run, while Guers added four of his own. Four-straight points from Guers with less than three minutes to play extended the Hawks' advantage to 38-25, and Taylor Fortin canned a triple as time expired on the half to give Saint Anselm a 43-31 lead headed into the break.
Out of the intermission, the Hawk lead grew to as many as 17 following a 1-for-2 trip to the line for Guers, but the Owls fought their way back into the game and another Luckett Jr. layup at the 14:20 mark trimmed the Saint Anselm lead to 54-41.
The Hawks responded with a 7-0 run to build a 20-point lead at 61-41, and a three-ball from Vessichio made it a 10-2 run to put the Hawks on top 64-43 with 11:38 to play. Saint Anselm grabbed their largest lead of the game with 6:13 remaining in the second half as Taylor Fortin buried another triple to give Saint Anselm a 74-51 lead.
The Owls would only get as close as 13 the rest of the way as the Hawks held on for the 85-70 NE10 road victory.
Saint Anselm shot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, 38.5% (10-of-26) from three and 82.1% (23-of-28) on their free throws in the win. Southern Connecticut shot 37.8% (28-of-74) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from beyond the arc and 88.9% (8-of-9) from the charity stripe. The Owls held a slight 40-39 edge in rebounds while committing only six turnovers to 15 for the Hawks.
Saint Anselm is back in action Wednesday night when they host American International College at 7:30 p.m. at 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, Instagram and Snapchat @STAHawks.
