MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Miles Tention (Palo Alto, Calif.) reached 1,000 career points for the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team with a go-ahead basket late in the game, powering his team to a 78-73 victory over nationally-ranked Bentley University on Saturday.
Saint Anselm evens its overall record at 2-2 with the result while Bentley, ranked 14th in NCAA Division II by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, drops to 2-1 on the year following the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both programs.
Logging a career-high 35 points while playing all 40 minutes in the win, Tention becomes the 55th student-athlete in the College's men's basketball history to reach 1,000 points in a career and the first since Gustav Suhr-Jessen '22 accomplished the feat on Dec. 11, 2021 against Bloomfield.
Tention was also 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the win, his best performance across an 89-game career at Saint Anselm. In total, he is 19-for-19 this season from the line and has made each of his last 31 attempts at the charity stripe dating back to last season.
Senior Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) scored 18 points and had six rebounds while junior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) matched sophomore Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia) for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Both statistically and in reality, it was an evenly-matched game as both teams shot within percentage points of one another from the floor (41.0%-to-40.7%, Bentley) and at the line (78.9%-to-77.8%, Bentley) with both squads matching rebound totals (12 offensive, 27 defensive) with 39 apiece.
Down 12-8 in the early going, Saint Anselm fired off 13 of the game's next 15 points to capture a game-high seven-point lead with six points poured home by Arbuckle in that four-plus minute stretch of play. Bentley, meanwhile, made just one basket on their eight attempts from the floor.
Bentley drew the game even at 25 with 5:57 left in the opening half but could not overtake the Hawks until Zach Laput was fouled on a go-ahead three-point basket with 1:25 left. Making the free throw, the Hawks were down by two, 37-35.
After five points by Tention to once again take a two-point lead with 47 seconds left, Bentley responded with a game-tying layup with 28 ticks left. On the team's last possession, Robinson made a shot at the buzzer to keep the Hawks in front, 41-39, at halftime.
Bentley held brief leads throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Saint Anselm was able to respond each time and eventually forged a five-point advantage, 56-51, with 11:04 to go following back-to-back Tention free throw makes.
With under 10 minutes to go in regulation time, it was the Falcons that took three separate one-point leads, including one with 2:42 left in the game after a Mason Webb jumper. The biggest shot of the game was a go-ahead Tention triple on his team's next possession, pushing him over 1,000 career points on the Hilltop.
Bentley trimmed the Saint Anselm leads to two points, 72-70, with 39 seconds left following the successful completion of an and-one play by Brian Wright-Kinsey. Forced to foul the Hawks down the stretch, Saint Anselm locked down the win with a perfect six-for-six performance at the charity stripe.
The game was dedicated prior to the opening tip to Christopher D. Rodgers of the Class of 1993, a men's basketball student-athlete who passed away in 2018. A beloved member of the program from 1989 to 1993 under Head Coach Keith Dickson, Chris embodied sportsmanship and was an outstanding teammate, classmate and member of the Anselmian community. Chris is lovingly remembered by his family, former teammates, coaches, and fellow alumni.
The Christopher Rodgers '93 Memorial Men's Basketball Endowment Fund, which provides continuing support to the men's basketball program, has been established to pay tribute to Chris's character and accomplishments. Chris's parents, Karen and Joe Brisbois, as well as Chris's teammate and classmate Jim Mann '93, were recognized with plaques and applauded for their work in establishing a fund to benefit present and future student-athletes on the Hilltop.
Saint Anselm will travel to Pace University on Tuesday, Nov. 22 for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Setters.
