NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior
Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) notched his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds while fifth-year
Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) led all scorers with 23 points, but Saint Anselm would drop its fourth straight game, 86-75, to the Owls of Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday night.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns to the friendly confines of Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on Saturday, January 6 for an afternoon matinee against the Panthers of Adelphi University. The Northeast-10 Conference match-up is set for a 3:30 p.m. start time.
Score: Saint Anselm 75, Southern Conn. St. 86
Records: Saint Anselm 4-8, (2-4 NE10); Southern Conn. St. 10-2, (4-2 NE10)
Location: New Haven, Conn. (James W. Moore Fieldhouse)
Date: Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Attendance: 182
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm got on the scoreboard first thanks to a good jumper in the paint by McCarthy. Arbuckle finished a layup for his first points of the game followed by another basket from McCarthy off an Owl turnover to make it 6-5 Hawks. After Sean James hit a three-pointer to give Southern Conn. St. a 10-8 lead, Arbuckle quickly responded with the first Saint Anselm triple of the game to take back an 11-10 advantage.
- With 12:56 left in the first half, junior Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia) knocked down a triple off the assist from Arbuckle to put Saint Anselm ahead 18-15. The Owls strung together nine consecutive points midway through the half featuring six points from Josh McGettigan to reclaim a 24-18 lead over the Hawks. Arbuckle answered for Saint Anselm by making it a two-point game after pouring in four more points with a good jump shot and two made free throws.
- Back-to-back baskets by the Owls briefly gave them a six-point advantage as the final five minutes of the game neared. Arbuckle's second triple of the half followed by a jumper from McCarthy soon narrowed Southern Conn. St. lead to just one point. The Owls would add five late points at the end of the half to head into the break with a 33-27 lead.
- Arbuckle kicked off the scoring in the second half with a good layup for the Hawks. Sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) finished his first basket of the second half to make it a 37-31 game. Arbuckle and McCarthy each made their way to the charity stripe and poured in four points for the Hawks before James knocked down a three-pointer for the Owls at the 15:30 mark.
- Saint Anselm quickly responded by going on an 8-3 run highlighted by a triple each from Morissette and Arbuckle to make it a one-possession game. Kazell Stewart then led Southern Conn. St. on an 11-2 run scoring six points for the Owls and extending their lead to 56-45.
- After Marty Silvera made a layup to give the Owls a 14-point advantage, junior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) finished two free throw attempts for his first two points of the half. The Hawks offense generated a late push with just under seven minutes left in the game by going on an 8-0 run to bring the score to 66-60. Joe Christian drained a three-pointer followed shortly by a good jumper from James to improve the Owls advantage back into double-digits. Southern Conn. St. connected on 12 of their 13 last free throw attempts in the final minutes of the half to seal the eventual 11-point win, their seventh straight.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Southern Conn. St. went 32-65 (49.2%) from the floor and made eight of their 22 three-point attempts (36.4%), while Saint Anselm shot 24-64 (37.5%) from the field and knocked down six of 27 (22.2%) from behind the arc.
- The Owls outrebounded the Hawks by a 39-29 margin including 31 defensive rebounds. Saint Anselm held a slight 8-6 edge in steals and both teams scored eight second-chance points in the contest.
- Arbuckle led the team with 29 points (7-19 FG, 3-9 3-FG, 6-8 FT) marking the sixth 20-plus point output this season to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. McCarthy recorded his third double-double of the season after scoring 22 points (9-13 FG, 4-4 FT) and a team-high 12 rebounds.
- Morissette added 11 points and senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) poured in 10 points (to round out four Hawks who scored in double figures.
- Five Owls scored in the double-digits with Stewart leading the squad with 19 points (8-14 FG, 3-5 FT) along with six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
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