MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team improved to 5-0 in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium this season, cruising past the University of Bridgeport on Monday by a 97-74 margin in non-conference play.
Saint Anselm has now won six games in a row and seven of its last eight, moving to 8-3 overall on the year. Bridgeport, who had defeated three Northeast-10 Conference opponents this season, drops to 5-6 in 2022-23.
Matching a season-high with 97 points, the Hawks were led by sophomore Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) and his career-high 23 points. Seniors Miles Tention (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) added 22 and 20 points, respectively, as the Hawks shot a combined 55.9% from the floor.
Arbuckle and senior Owen McGlashan (Marlton, N.J.) tied for the team lead with nine rebounds as the duo combined for nine of their team's 21 assists. The trio of Arbuckle, Taylor and Tention combined to go 27-for-43 (62.8%) from the field while adding 17 rebounds.
Saint Anselm opened up leads of 7-0, 12-2, 14-4, and 31-12 in the first half, controlling the game for the majority of the first half. Tention poured home six points in the game's first five-plus minutes and fueled a 12-0 run near the midpoint of the first half, scoring seven with Taylor tacking on five of his own.
Bridgeport closed the first half on a 21-13 run, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and getting points from seven players in the process. A quick 11-4 spurt by the Hawks to open the second half recreated some distance from the Purple Knights on the way to the convincing victory.
The Hawks were 19-for-34 in both the first and second halves (55.9%) while Bridgeport shot exactly 40% from the floor (30-for-75). Saint Anselm overwhelmingly controlled the glass (53-to-26) and handed out 21 assists – the Hawks poured home 17 second-chance points in the win.
11 student-athletes scored for the Hawks and 13 members of the Saint Anselm roster logged playing time in the game.
After Monday's tilt with the Purple Knights of Bridgeport, Saint Anselm returns to play on Saturday, Dec. 31, traveling to take on the Purple Knights from Saint Michael's at 3:30 p.m.
