MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team saw their double-digit second-half comeback come up just short against Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday evening. The Hawks fell to their cross-town rival by a final score of 83-72.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm has a week off before hitting the road on Wednesday, November 29th, taking on Bentley University at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year's Northeast-10 Semifinals from Waltham, Mass.
Score: Saint Anselm 72, Southern New Hampshire 83
Records: Saint Anselm 2-3 (0-2 Northeast-10); Southern New Hampshire 3-1 (2-0 Northeast-10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Attendance: 417
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm started the game flying on both ends of the court, opening up a 12-1 lead in the first five minutes. Fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) and junior Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia) knocked down three-point baskets, while senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Sean McCarthy each converted on and-one opportunities for the Hawks.
- Made two-point field goals by Arbuckle and Robinson and a three-pointer by Becker kept their 11-point advantage intact with 10:50 remaining in the first half.
- Southern New Hampshire came to life from that point on, opening up a 15-5 run during a three-minute stretch to cut the Saint Anselm lead to just one point. Noah Kamba knocked down two triples, while teammate Alex Rivera dropped in another for the Penmen during that sequence.
- After a made jumper by Arbuckle, the Penmen took the lead on a three-ball by Kurtis Henderson with 5:54 to play in the half. Two more triples on consecutive possessions by Jordan Brathwaite and Kamba and gave Southern New Hampshire a 36-32 advantage. Neither side could register any points with under three minutes in the half until 52 seconds remaining when Preston Santos slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a feed by Henderson. Kamba also made a layup in transition with 20 seconds left to put the Penmen in front, 40-32, at the break.
- After Rivera extended the Southern New Hampshire lead to 46-32 to begin the second half, baskets by Arbuckle and McCarthy trimmed the Penmen lead back down to 10 points. Despite a triple by Robinson for the Hawks, Rivera connected on two more threes and with 15 minutes to play, the Penmen held a 14-point lead once again.
- Saint Anselm quickly responded and began their comeback after a made three-pointer by Becker and an old-fashioned three-point play from Arbuckle to make it a 57-49 game. A three by Robinson and a layup from sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) cut the Penmen lead to just five after a Southern New Hampshire timeout.
- Henderson responded quickly with a layup, but a three-ball from junior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) followed by two made free throws by Morissette made it a 61-59 Penmen lead.
- Southern New Hampshire fired back with an eight-to-one run led by triples from Matt Becht and Henderson. Back-to-back threes from Robinson helped trim the deficit back to just a two point margin, but consecutive layups from Paul Greene and a mid-range jumper by Henderson pushed the Penmen lead back up to eight points with two and a half minutes left.
- The Hawks had trouble getting the offense going late and several made free throws by Southern New Hampshire sealed their 83-72 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Both teams attempted 70 shots or more. Southern New Hampshire connected on 42.5 percent of their field goals (31-73), while Saint Anselm struggled from the floor, only making 34.3 percent of their shots (24-70).
- The Penmen made 12 of their 32 shots from beyond-the-arc compared to 10 successful long distance shots out of 31 for the Hawks. The Penmen went 60 percent from the free throw line (9-15) compared to 77.8 percent from the Hawks (14-18).
- Southern New Hampshire out-rebounded Saint Anselm by a 49-44 margin and also outscored the Hawks in terms of bench points, 35-6.
- Arbuckle finished with a game-high and season-high 27 points (9-25 FG, 2-7 3PT-FG, 7-9 FT) to go along with nine rebounds for the Hawks. Robinson added 19 points (7-10 FG) and knocked down a career-high five threes in addition to six rebounds.
- The Penmen had four players in double-figures for scoring, including Kamba (18 points), Henderson (17 points), Rivera (14 points), and Santos (10 points), who also grabbed 10 rebounds for the double-double.
- This marked the 77th all-time meeting between these two programs, with Saint Anselm falling to 40-37 overall against Southern New Hampshire.
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