MANCHESTER, N.H. – Four Hawks players registered double-figures in the scoring column as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team picked up a huge Northeast-10 Conference win over second place Pace University on Tuesday evening. The Hawks, who are playing a better brand of basketball over the last two weeks, have won their third straight and move up to seventh place in the standings with a 5-5 record in league play.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back home on Saturday, January 20th to host American International College at 3:30 p.m. from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 75, Pace 69
Records: Saint Anselm 7-9, (5-5 NE10); Pace 11-5 (7-3 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Attendance: 73
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After a slow offensive start for Saint Anselm, the road team in Pace was able to jump out to an early 12-1 lead after the opening four minutes. Two step-back jumpers by fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) and a field goal from junior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) led the Hawks on a 6-2 run and got them back to within seven points with the score at 14-7 at the 12:56 mark of the first half.
- Senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) provided a spark off the bench for Saint Anselm by knocking down a midrange jumper and then getting to the rim for two. Just like that, it was just a 16-13 Setters lead with the Hawks on a 12-4 scoring run of their own over the course of five minutes of game action.
- On Saint Anselm's next offensive possession, another member of the Hawks' bench unit in junior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) drilled a corner three to tie the score. The Australian knocked down another triple the next time down the court to give Saint Anselm their first lead of the ball game at 19-16 with 9:07 to play in the first.
- Following a Pace timeout, sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) cashed in a shot from long distance. The Granite State native then went two-for-two at the free throw line, and a deep three from the left wing by Arbuckle helped Saint Anselm obtain a five point advantage.
- Four straight free throws by the Hawks, two apiece from Archer and McCarthy, followed by two more long distance shots by Morissette helped give Saint Anselm their largest lead of the half at 41-31. The Hawks held a seven-point lead with the score at 41-34 to end the first half. Arbuckle, McCarthy, and Morissette all played the entire first half and combined for 28 points at the break.
- McCarthy had success once again getting to the rim and started the second half with a layup off the glass. A pair of free throws by Taylor the next time down the court put Saint Anselm back in front by double digits.
- The first field goal of the game by senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) a couple minutes later beat the shot clock buzzer, and his first drained triple of the game extended the Hawks' lead to 13 points.
- The next five minutes of game time was choppy with both teams committing turnovers and missing good looks at the rim. With eight minutes to go, Arbuckle connected on a midrange jumper, but a three by Pace's Justin O'Neill followed by an and-one the next possession by Tray Alexader cut the Saint Anselm lead to just eight with the score at 57-49.
- The Setters started to shift the momentum by applying a tenacious full-court press. That resulted in a Hawks turnover and Alexander converted on a wide open fastbreak layup. Saint Anselm was then able to break the Pace press, resulting in back-to-back threes by Morissette and Taylor. That helped settle the Hawks down by getting the lead back up to 12 points with under five minutes remaining.
- Bryan Powell knocked down a three with 1:50 left to keep the Setters in the game down by just nine points, but a driving layup by McCarthy plus the foul was the dagger as the Hawks went back up by 11 with just over a minute to go. Saint Anselm converted on seven of their nine free throws in the final minute to seal the 75-69 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm made just 24 of their 59 field goal attempts (40.7%), while Pace shot 27 of 61 (44.3%) from the floor. Behind the arc, the Hawks knocked down 11 of 25 (44.0%) from deep, while the Setters went seven of 19 (36.8%).
- The Hawks were also able to shoot an efficient 16 for 20 (80.0%) at the foul line compared to eight of 13 (61.5%) by the Setters.
- Pace held the edge on the boards, out-rebounding Saint Anselm 42-34. However, the Setters committed 18 turnovers while the Hawks had just 11.
- Both teams had strong nights with 20 points or better from their respective benches.
- Morissette led the scoring for the Hawks with 23 points (6-15 FG, 5-10 3-FG, 6-6 FT). Taylor provided a big boost of the bench with a season-high 14 points on four made threes. Arbuckle and McCarthy each added 13 points, while Archer and Becker both tallied six points in the win.
- Alexander led Pace with 23 points, while Powell dropped in 11 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Setters.
- This marked the 39th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Pace, with the Hawks improving to 27-12 overall versus the Setters.
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