MANCHESTER, N.H. – An all-around performance by sophomore
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) led the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to a 73-69 Northeast-10 Conference victory over the visiting American International College on Saturday afternoon. The Granite State native's clutch play down the stretch allowed the Hawks to escape with their fourth-straight win.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is on the road next week to take on cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:30 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 73, American International 69
Records: Saint Anselm 8-9, (6-5 NE10); American International 5-12 (3-8 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Attendance: 419
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) and Morissette combined for 11 of Saint Anselm's first 13 points, including three three-pointers, as the Hawks got out to a 13-5 start in the opening six minutes.
- At the 10:52 mark of the first half, Morissette collected a pass at the top of the arc from senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) and fired from deep. The sophomore made the shot while being fouled and knocked down the free throw for the successful four-point play to put his team ahead, 23-10.
- After layups on back-to-back possessions by junior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland), junior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) collected an offensive board off an Arbuckle miss. His follow-up attempt was good, plus the foul, as Saint Anselm made it 32-15.
- The Hawks then pushed their lead up to 21 points, but American International went on an 8-0 run to pull back within 13. However, Arbuckle provided the answer for the Hawks with a corner three before a driving and-one floater from Becker.
- Becker's triple with 51 seconds remaining in the half gave Saint Anselm a 47-23 lead, their largest of the afternoon to that point, at halftime.
- The Yellow Jackets came out of the locker room with a little momentum, scoring three straight baskets to start the second half and forcing a timeout by the Hawks. A layup by AIC's Jacob Barnett capped off their 8-0 run to make it 47-31 four minutes into the half.
- Layups on three straight possessions, one apiece from Arbuckle, Morissette, and McCarthy, helped Saint Anselm get their lead back up to 20 points.
- After Taylor knocked down a pair of free throws, the Hawks went without a field goal for over four minutes. Saint Anselm's defense was able to keep AIC scoreless for three minutes as well, so the Hawks kept their lead at 15 points with 10 minutes to play.
- The Yellow Jackets stayed persistent on both ends of the floor, and a Jalen Jordan layup following an offensive rebound cut it to just an 11-point Hawks lead. McCarthy provided the answer for Saint Anselm, ending their seven-and-a-half-minute field goal-less streak with a three from the right wing.
- With five minutes to play in the game, the Hawks broke the full-court Yellow Jackets press, resulting in a fast break layup by Arbuckle to make it 63-50, Saint Anselm, but a three the next time down the court by American International's Justice Ellison cut it to a 10-point margin.
- Ellison then buried a triple in transition to make it just a five-point Hawks lead. The Yellow Jackets once again applied their full-court press and forced a turnover resulting in a layup by Carlos Hubb. After another steal by AIC, Ellison cashed in on a midrange pullup, and with 3:09 on the clock, Saint Anselm's lead was down to just one point at 63-62.
- The Hawks were then able to beat the pressure and Morissette provided his team with a much-needed corner three to go back up by four, but the next time down the court Ellison was fouled while shooting a three. The Yellow Jacket made all three free throws to make it 66-65, Hawks.
- Morissette got back to work on the offensive end, knocking down another catch-and-shoot three off a feed by McCarthy to put Saint Anselm ahead, 69-65, with two minutes to go. The sophomore was also able to knock down a clutch midrange jumper with 40 seconds left to keep the Hawks' lead at a fairly comfortable four points.
- Saint Anselm was able to get a big defensive stop with McCarthy intercepting a pass after a 28-second American International possession, but the Hawks missed two free throws at the other end. A quick layup by Aguibou Balde for American International cut the lead back down to two points with 4.4 seconds on the clock. Morissette came through again for the home team, sealing the win with a pair of free throws as Saint Anselm held on for the four-point win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot well from the floor, making 26 of their 56 attempts (46.4%), while American International went 26 of 64 (40.6%) overall. The Hawks were hot from long distance and made nine of their 20 three-pointers (45.0%). The Yellow Jackets shot a similar percentage from deep and made 10 of their 26 threes (38.5%).
- Both teams shot well from the free throw line with the Hawks going 12 for 16 (75.0%) and the Yellow Jackets going seven for eight (87.5%).
- Saint Anselm held a slight edge on the glass with 36 rebounds compared to 33 by American International. The Hawks committed 12 turnovers compared to just nine by the Yellow Jackets.
- AIC also added 14 points off the bench, compared to none for Saint Anselm, who only played a seven-man rotation.
- Leading the way for Saint Anselm was Morissette with a 28-point afternoon (10-18 FG, 5-8 3FG, 3-3 FT) to go along with six rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. Arbuckle added 18 points (8-16 FG, 2-4 3FG), five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, while McCarthy contributed 12 points and a game-10 rebounds for the double-double.
- Ellison had a solid game for American International with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
- This marked the 127th all-time meeting between these two programs. The Hawks improve to 81-46 overall against the Yellow Jackets.
STAY CONNECTED:
