MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team shot over 64% from the floor on Saturday in its 88-83 victory over visiting Thomas Jefferson University.
Saint Anselm improves to 7-3 overall following the non-league tilt while Jefferson sees a three-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 6-4. The Hawks host Bridgeport on Monday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. in non-league competition.
Senior Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) exploded for 20 points, four assists and two blocks, scoring 12 in the second half, while classmate Owen McGlashan (Marlton, N.J.) had 16 points and tied with sophomore Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Taylor also poured home 12 points and four assists in the victory while senior Miles Tention (Palo Alto, Calif.) missed just three of his nine field goals, scoring 17 of his own. Junior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) tacked on 15 points with five rebounds in the win.
The Hawks shot 64.3% from the floor, reaching at least that percentage for just the fifth time since the 2012-13 campaign. In the second half of play, Saint Anselm was 20-for-27 (74.1%) as three Hawks had nine or more points in the last 20 minutes alone.
The Hawks opened up a 23-12 lead in the game's first seven-plus minutes, thanks to nine points by McGlashan and a 10-for-12 shooting performance by the entire Saint Anselm roster in that span. Jefferson came back and fired off a 12-point scoring spurt, capturing a 37-33 lead with 6:32 left in the first half.
Saint Anselm did not make a field goal in the final 3:32 of the first half, sending Jefferson to the locker room with a 45-42 advantage. The Rams would build its lead to five points, 47-42, with a layup in the first 15 seconds of the second half.
The Hawks took the lead for good, answering by scoring 15 of the game's next 21 points. Jefferson made several attempts to reduce the hosts lead, trimming it to as little as one point with under 10 minutes to go, but Saint Anselm pulled away each time.
Each team scored 50 points in the paint but the Hawks held an 11-to-4 edge in fast-break points.
