MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball overcame a deficit of 12 points in the game's final six minutes, stunning Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Sunday by a 76-73 margin in a non-conference tilt at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Saint Anselm moves to 2-2 on the year while Saint Thomas Aquinas, receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II Poll, dips to 4-3 on the year. Sunday's game was a re-match of the 2019 NCAA Division II East Region Championship title bout that was won by the Hawks.
Sophomore Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) finished three assists shy of a triple-double, posting career-high marks in points (21), rebounds (15) and assists (seven). Senior Miles Tention (Palo Alto, Calif.) had 20 points and three boards while classmate Chris Paul (Highland Mills, N.Y.) scored 15 points and pulled down eight caroms.
Trailing by a 65-53 score with 5:59 to go in regulation time, the Hawks used a 23-8 scoring run that was fueled by four three's and seven-of-nine shooting to come from behind and secure the win. Down by two with 1:53 to go, a key triple by sophomore Josh Menard (Higganum, Conn.) put the Hawks ahead for good before back-to-back Tention free throws with 19 seconds left upped the Saint Anselm lead to 74-71.
Demetre Roberts carried the ball up the floor with 11 seconds left, made the easy layup and was fouled. Missing the free throw to complete the game-tying three-point play, Tention was fouled once again and made both of his shots from the charity stripe with eight seconds left to end the game.
Ahead by a 3-0 margin, Saint Anselm conceded 15 of the game's next 19 points to trail by a 15-7 margin near the midpoint of the first half. A three by Antonio Vendola with 7:10 left in the first half upped the Spartans to their first 10-point lead of the day, creating a 28-18 deficit for Saint Anselm to overcome.
Saint Anselm cut the lead to 30-27 with 3:10 left in the first half, thanks to a four-for-six performance from the floor, but the Spartans established a 36-29 lead at halftime. The Hawks held the statistical edge in first half shooting (42.9%-to-40%), but committed eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
The Hawks cut the lead to 44-40 following a Tention triple just under five minutes into the second half, but a 7-1 scoring run for the Spartans created another 10-point advantage, 51-41, with 13:12 to go. The Spartans also led by 10 later in the half following a Jamal Barnes trey with 6:52 left.
Tention led the way for Saint Anselm with 15 points in the second half while Becker had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the final 20 minutes alone. Paul played limited minutes in the second half due to foul trouble, but posted five points in the final six-plus minutes of the contest to lock down the victory.
Osbel Caraballo led STAC with 22 points while Jerrel Kelly was his team's leading rebounder with nine to his credit.
Saint Anselm will travel to the University of Bridgeport on Wednesday, Dec. 1 for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Purple Knights.
