MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) made three clutch free throws with 21 seconds remaining and the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team held on for a 73-71 win over Jefferson in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon. Senior
Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) registered his third double-double of the season and 14th of his career with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Hawks in their second straight win.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hits the road for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup against in-state rival Franklin Pierce on Tuesday, November 26th at 7:30 p.m. in Rindge, N.H.
Score: Saint Anselm 73, Jefferson 71
Records: Saint Anselm (3-2), Jefferson (4-2)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Saturday, November 23rd, 2024
Attendance: 324
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Jefferson started the game with a 6-0 lead after six quick points by Justin Hawkins coming from a three-pointer and an and-one.
- After a couple of free throws knocked down by Morissette for the Hawks, the Rams extended their lead to 10-2 following a midrange jumper by Sean Fullerton and a layup by Hawkins.
- At the other end, freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) got Saint Anselm going with five quick points on a pair of layups plus a free throw to make it a 12-7 game.
- About six minutes in, the Hawks got the crowd going with consecutive buckets. Senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) made a nice pass to junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) for an easy deuce. Ramirez then came up with a steal on the defensive end and launched a pass ahead to Oliver-Bush, who threw down a dunk to cut the deficit to just one point with the score at 12-11.
- After Fullerton answered with a layup for Jefferson, Oliver-Bush tied the score at 14-14 with a three-pointer for Saint Anselm off another assist by Ramirez.
- With 9:51 left in the first half, redshirt freshman Greg Cantwell (Glen Head, N.Y.) buried a triple to give the Hawks their first lead of the afternoon, 21-18.
- With under eight minutes left in the half, the Hawks went on a streak of five straight possessions with a made field goal to extend their lead to 32-26. Ramirez made a couple of shots in the paint, while McCarthy made a layup and Morissette knocked down a three during that stretch.
- Saint Anselm closed the half on a 13-6 run over the final five minutes. McCarthy poured in four points and Ramirez added five during that span for the Hawks, who took a 45-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- Jefferson opened the second half on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit down to eight, but Ramirez responded for Saint Anselm with four quick points to increase his team's lead back up to 49-37.
- After a turnover committed by the Rams, Oliver-Bush came down to the other end and cashed in from long range. A midrange jumper by Cantwell and a free throw from Ramirez a few moments later gave the Hawks an 18-point lead, their largest of the game at that point.
- Ashton Miller then sparked a 6-0 Jefferson run with four points of his own to make it 57-45 with 13:10 to play.
- Oliver-Bush answered right away by getting out in transition and finishing off a fastbreak layup for the Hawks with 12:42 remaining, but the Rams defense tightened up after that and held their opposition without a point for the next six minutes..
- That cold spell for Saint Anselm allowed Jefferson to creep back into the game. The visitors went on a 10-0 run over that stretch with Fullerton scoring four more points to trim the lead to 59-55 with 6:51 left.
- Cantwell helped the Hawks end the drought with a pair of buckets, but Fullerton and Miller made it a one-possession game at 63-60 with some big shot-making at the other end for the Rams.
- With under five minutes to go, McCarthy took the reigns on offense for Saint Anselm. The senior put his head down and finished twice at the rim to extend his team's lead back up to 67-60.
- Jefferson remained resilient, however, and scored back-to-back baskets of their own including a layup by Hawkins and a three-pointer by Fullerton, which made it a two-point game with the score at 67-65 and 2:53 on the clock.
- After a made free throw by McCarthy, Farouk Kaba tied the score at 68-68 with 1:34 to play after sinking a clutch triple for the Rams.
- McCarthy was then fouled in the act of shooting and buried two more foul shots for the Hawks to give them the lead back, but Jeremiah Dorsey gave the Rams their first lead since the first half after knocking down a three from the top of the key with 41 seconds to go.
- At the other end, Morissette was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made all three free throws to give Saint Anselm a 73-71 lead with 21 seconds left.
- Jefferson called a timeout to draw up a play, but the potential go-ahead three-pointer at the buzzer by Dorsey was off the mark and Saint Anselm survived for their second consecutive win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm had an efficient game shooting the ball and went 27 for 60 (45.0 percent) from the field. Jefferson shot a little bit worse, going 28 for 68 (41.2 percent) from the floor.
- Both teams struggled shooting from long distance as the Hawks made only four out of 13 three-point attempts (30.8 percent) and the Rams went seven out of 21 (33.3 percent).
- At the free throw line, Saint Anselm went 15 for 22 (68.2 percent) and Jefferson went eight for 10 (80.0 percent).
- The rebounding battle was very even with the Rams holding a slight 39-38 edge on the glass. The Rams brought in nine offensive boards compared to seven offensive rebounds grabbed by the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm held large leads in both points in the paint, 46-32, as well as fastbreak points, 23-14. The Rams also outscored the Hawks in second chance points, 10-5.
- Neither bench made a significant impact in the scoring department with Jefferson outscoring Saint Anselm in that area, 7-6.
- The Hawks capitalized off turnovers with 16 points off of their opponent's 14 giveaways. The Rams scored 11 points off of 13 turnovers committed by the Hawks.
- The contest featured five ties and two lead changes, many of which came late in the second half.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm had a solid night protecting the rim with six blocked shots to go along with six steals. Jefferson posted three blocks and seven steals.
- As a team, the Hawks finished with 12 assists on their 27 made baskets. The Rams ended up with 13 assists on their 28 made field goals.
- Ramirez led Saint Anselm with a game-high 18 points (7-13 FG, 4-8 FT) in addition to four assists and four rebounds. McCarthy ended up with 17 points (6-12 FG, 5-7 FT) and 16 boards for his 14th career double-double and third of the season.
- Oliver-Bush posted his second straight game in double figure scoring for the Hawks with 15 points (6-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT) to go along with a career-high six rebounds, a career-high four blocks, and two steals.
- Four players for the Rams finished with double digit scoring totals, including Hawkins who had 17 points (6-15 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-5 FT) and Ashton Miller who had 13 points (5-12 FG, 3-4 FT) and 11 rebounds.
- This marked the eighth all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 5-3 overall against Jefferson in the series that began in 2001.
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