MANCHESTER, N.H. - Sophomore
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) scored a game-high 20 points, his second-most this season, to help the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team pick up their first win in Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday afternoon over Assumption University.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back home on Tuesday, December 5th in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium to host Franklin Pierce University at 7:30 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 71, Assumption 65
Records: Saint Anselm 3-4 (1-3 NE10); Assumption 4-3 (3-2 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Attendance: 737
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A layup on the game's opening possession for Saint Anselm by junior Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia), followed by a layup by junior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) and a traditional three-point play by senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) allowed the Hawks to jump out to an early 7-2 lead in the first two minutes of action.
- Assumption cut into the deficit, but Robinson knocked down a three-pointer at the 14:06 mark of the first half to put the Hawks ahead, 13-9. The Greyhounds responded with a made three from Cooper Creek and a converted and-one by Alex Carlisle to tie the score up at 15 apiece.
- Morissette then connected on five straight points for Saint Anselm with a mid-range jumper followed up by his first triple of the contest. Freshman Jordan Horne (Newport News, Va.) came in off the bench and got to the basket for a layup to put the Hawks back in front, 22-19. Another jumper in the paint from Horne with six minutes left in the half helped Saint Anselm maintain a two-point advantage.
- After a two-minute scoreless drought from both teams, Becker connected on a shot from long-distance. Fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) also knocked down a three for his first field goal of the game to make it a 32-28 Hawks lead with 2:44 in the first. Morissette finished another layup and cashed in on two free throws before halftime as Saint Anselm led, 36-30 at the break.
- The Greyhounds opened the second half with the momentum thanks to two made layups and a dunk from Daouda Dembele, but a made layup and another three-pointer, both by Morissette, on consecutive Hawk possessions allowed Saint Anselm to increase their lead to 45-36. The New Hampshire native then trickled the twine on his third three-point field goal of the game with 14 minutes remaining to put his team up by 10 points.
- Just as it looked like Assumption was creeping back into the game after a dunk in transition by Dembele, Robinson responded on the other end with a layup plus the foul. His made free throw made it a 53-42 game with 12:51 to go.
- Made jumpers from Kani Glover and Myles Alcindor for Assumption trimmed the deficit down to four points as Saint Anselm held a narrow 57-53 lead with under 10 minutes to play.
- No field goals were scored for almost five minutes after that, but Saint Anselm knocked down five foul shots to boost their lead to eight points. Six consecutive points by Carlisle for the Greyhounds once again made it a four point game with three minutes left, but the Hawks defense would only allow five more points the rest of the way. Four made free throws by Becker put the game to bed as Saint Anselm held on for their first conference win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot just 35% (21-60) from the field and only shot 26.9% (7-26) from beyond-the-arc. Assumption shot 38.7% (24-62) from the field and only knocked down four of their 17 attempts from long distance.
- Both teams found success from the free throw line, with the Hawks knocking down 84.6% (22-26) of their free throws, while the Greyhounds shot 76.5% (13-17) from the stripe.
- Assumption outscored Saint Anselm 36-26 in the paint, but the Hawks out-rebounded the Greyhounds 47-34.
- Morissette led the team with 20 points (6-16 FG, 3-9 3PT-FG, 5-6 FT) and grabbed five rebounds. Arbuckle poured in 13 points (2-8 FG, 2-5 3PT-FG, 7-8 FT) to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
- Becker and Robinson both recorded double-doubles as they each scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards. Becker also blocked three shots, tied for the most in a single game in his career.
- Carlisle and Glover paced Assumption with a combined 31 points.
- This marked the 131st all-time meeting between these programs with Saint Anselm improving to 73-58 in the all-time series against Assumption.
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