BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team rallied from a 13–point second half deficit to defeat LIU Post, 87-81 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Brookville, N.Y.
Box Score
Tim Guers scored 30 points for the fourth-straight game, pouring in a game-high 32 points to go with three rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Taylor Fortin added a career-best 28 points, while adding seven rebounds. Cody Ball joined them in double-figures with 15 points and six assists, with Grant Mackay and Chris Braley adding six points apiece. Braley also pulled in a game-high 16 rebounds.
LIU Post had four players reach double-figures in scoring led by 26 points from Greg Dotson. Jared Hall added a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists, while Kyle McLeggan and Aary Bibens added 10 points apiece.
The Hawks improve to 10-6 overall with the win, with the Pioneers falling to 5-14 with the setback. The Hawks return to New York on Tuesday night for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup with Adelphi University at 7:30 p.m.
Saint Anselm fell into an early 10-3 hole before Ball sandwiched triples around a Dotson layup and Guers later connected on a three of his own at the 14:57 mark to put the Hawks in front 17-15. The two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes, and Chris Braley put the Hawks ahead 26-23 with 8:14 remaining. The Pioneers answered with an 8-0 run to take a 31-26 lead, but Taylor Fortin went on a personal 7-2 run to tie the game at 33-33 with 3:38 remaining.
Ball kept it a tie game at 36-36 with a triple, but LIU Post's Jared Rivers hit a pair of threes before the end of the first half to give the Pioneers a 42-38 lead headed into the break.
Tim Guers kept it a four-point game with a layup at the 16:28 mark, but the Pioneers used an 8-0 run to jump out to a 54-42 advantage with 13:48 remaining. Guers knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to 56-47, but Hunter Powell hit back-to-back shots to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the game at 60-47 with 11:22 to play in regulation.
The Hawks started to chip away, and an 8-0 run by the visitors on triples by Guers and Fortin and a pair of Guers free throws made it a one possession game at 73-70 with 3:52 remaining. Dotson scored for LIU Post to end the run, and after a Ball layup, Hunter Powell knocked down a free throw to give the Pioneers a 76-72 advantage with only 2:29 to play.
Fortin buried a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 76-74, and Guers completed the comeback with a three-pointer that gave the Hawks a 77-76 lead with one minute to play. Saint Anselm got a stop on defense the next time down, but turned the ball over on their final possession of the period. LIU Post was able to draw a foul in the final seconds of the half, and Aary Bibens went 1-for-2 at the line to tie the game at 77-all and send it to overtime.
Guers opened the extra frame with a layup and Taylor Fortin extended the lead to 82-77 with a three-pointer at the 2:50 mark. The Pioneers' Hall knocked down two freebies to pull the home team to 82-79, but the Hawks went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch to pull away for the 87-81 victory.
Saint Anselm overcame a rough shooting day, only hitting 39.4% (26-of-66) of their shots, but connected on 55.6% (15-of-27) of their threes and 87% (20-of-23) of their free throws in the win. LIU Post shot 44.8% (30-of-67) from the floor, 42.1% (8-of-19) of their three-pointers and 72.2% (13-of-18) of their free throws. The Hawks held a 44-38 edge on the glass, while committed one less turnover (9) than the Pioneers (10).
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