MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team suffered a Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) loss, 52-82, to crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday night. The Penmen snapped the Hawks' four-game win streak with the victory at Stan Spirou Field House.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back on the Hilltop hosting the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College on Saturday, January 27. The NE10 tilt is slated for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 52, Southern N.H. 82
Records: Saint Anselm 8-10 (5-6 NE10); Southern N.H. 10-7 (5-6 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House)
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Attendance: 608
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Penmen jumped ahead to a quick 4-0 lead with Derrick Grant pouring in the opening four points of the game. Sophomore Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) got the Hawks on the scoreboard after finishing an and-one play to make it 4-3. After sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) made his first basket of the night, senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) dropped five points including a triple to put Saint Anselm on top 10-6 at the 15:24 mark.
- Southern N.H. took a brief 11-10 lead thanks to a three-pointer by Matt Becht before Saint Anselm went on a 10-0 run featuring two more triples from Becker and a layup by junior Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia) to make it 20-11. The Penmen offense took control generating a 21-0 run to claim a comfortable 32-20 lead. Southern N.H. knocked down three triples in the run as well as a dunk by Preston Santos to extend the Penmen's advantage to 12 points with less than three minutes left to go in the half.
- Fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) momentarily disrupted the Penmen's momentum with a good jumper for his first points of the night. Becht would drain a pair of three-pointers for Southern N.H. to end the first half with the Penmen leading by a score of 38-23 at halftime.
- At the start of the second half, Morissette hit a jump shot followed by a three-pointer from Arbuckle to bring the score to 38-28. Becht continued to shoot from long range knocking down a pair of three-pointers for Southern N.H. to make it 44-31. The Penmen kept their foot on the gas building a 12-4 run highlighted by a dunk from Grant and the seventh triple for Becht to give Southern N.H. their largest lead of the night at 19 points.
- McCarthy drove into the paint for a good layup soon followed by a made jump shot from Morissette crossing the midway point of the second half. Becker poured in the next 7-of-9 points for the Hawks including a three-pointer off the assist from sophomore Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany) and a dunk after stealing the ball from Alex Rivera. Southern N.H. would cement their 30-point win thanks to a 16-2 push in the final minutes of the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Southern N.H. outshot Saint Anselm 32-22 from the floor tonight with the Penmen posting a 43.8 percent shooting efficiency (32-73) in comparison to the Hawks shooting 33.8 percent from the field (22-65).
- The Penmen also hit 13-of-37 shots from behind the arc (35.1%) with Becht contributing seven of those three-pointers while the Hawks went 6-for-24 from long range.
- Saint Anselm held a slight 13-12 edge in points off turnovers in the contest. Southern N.H. earned 27 points off the bench and capitalized on second chances by scoring 18 points.
- Southern N.H. also outrebounded Saint Anselm by a 56-30 margin featuring 13 offensive boards from the Penmen.
- Becker scored a season-high 21 points (8-15 FG, 4-7 3-FG, 1-2 FT) to go along with 10 rebounds for the double-double, his third so far this season. Morissette poured in 10 points (5-17 FG) tonight as well as a pair of boards, an assist, one block, and one steal.
- Becht led the Penmen with 21 points (7-18 FG, 7-17 3-FG) along with eight rebounds, one assist, and a steal. Grant tallied a double-double in the win with 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-2 FT) and 14 rebounds.
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