WATERBURY, Conn. – Junior
Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) set a new career-high in scoring for the second consecutive game with a 25-point performance to lead the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team to its fourth straight win on Sunday afternoon over Post in non-conference action. Senior
Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) also contributed with a season-high 18 points off the bench for the Hawks and senior
Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) recorded his 1000th career point.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns home to host Southern Connecticut State in Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:30 p.m. from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 91, Post 74
Records: Saint Anselm (5-2), Post (5-3)
Location: Waterbury, Conn. (Drubner Center)
Date: Sunday, December 1st, 2024
Attendance: 150
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) got Saint Anselm out in front by knocking down a triple on the team's opening possession.
- Post responded with a 12-2 run to take a 12-5 lead. Deng Deang scored eight points and knocked down a couple of threes for the Eagles during that stretch.
- A quick layup by McCarthy helped end the drought for the Hawks, but the Eagles scored six straight after that to pull ahead, 18-7, just over five minutes into the game.
- After calling a timeout, Saint Anselm was able to bounce back over the next few minutes. The Hawks tightened up their defense and held the opposition scoreless for nearly five minutes. That allowed them to go on a 7-0 run to make it an 18-14 deficit midway through the first half.
- Post answered once again with baskets on three straight possessions, including a pair of threes, to extend their lead to 26-17.
- Saint Anselm continued to close the gap courtesy of the long ball. Ramirez knocked down a triple and redshirt freshman Greg Cantwell (Glen Head, N.Y.) cashed in twice from long distance to help trim the deficit down to one point with the score at 31-30 and four minutes left in the half.
- The Hawks were able to pull ahead before halftime after Morissette and Taylor each buried a three of their own. That allowed Saint Anselm to head into the locker room with a 40-36 advantage.
- Scoring the first six points out of the break for Saint Anselm was McCarthy with two layups and a pair of free throws.
- On the other side, Deang scored the first nine points of the half for Post including a three-pointer that made it a one-point game. A made jumper by Taquan Williams and a layup by Harrison Warnock allowed the home team to regain the lead, 49-46.
- The Hawks quickly answered with an 11-0 scoring run to take their largest lead of the day to that point, 57-49. Ramirez scored five points including an and-one bucket during that sequence, while Morissette knocked down another timely triple.
- Ramirez was able to finish at the rim with two more layups after that, allowing Saint Anselm to extend their lead to 10 points with 11:50 remaining.
- Those made baskets were the start of a 13-0 run for the Hawks, who held the Eagles without a point for another four-minute spell.
- With under 10 minutes left in the half, Taylor connected on two more threes for Saint Anselm to give them their largest lead of the day at 23 points with the score at 80-57.
- The Hawks were able to keep the Eagles at bay over the final six minutes of the game and rolled to a 91-74 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot the lights out and made 31 of their 56 field goal attempts (55.4 percent), which included 18 of 29 (62.1 percent) in the second half. Post also made 31 field goals, but attempted 76 shots in the game (40.8 percent).
- The Hawks shot well from long distance and connected on 11 of their 23 three-point attempts (47.8 percent) compared to just eight three point makes out of 33 attempts (24.2 percent) by the Eagles.
- Saint Anselm made 18 of their 24 free throws (75.0 percent), while Post struggled at the line and made just four out of 10 free throws (40.0 percent).
- The battle on the boards was even with the Eagles holding a slight 39-37 advantage. They outrebounded the Hawks on the offensive glass, 13-2.
- Points in the paint were also close with Saint Anselm leading in that area, 36-32. The Hawks also led in fastbreak points, 15-9, while the Eagles held a 13-5 edge in second chance points.
- The reserves for Saint Anselm had a big game and contributed 28 points. As a team, eight different players scored for the Hawks. Post's bench produced 15 points as a group.
- The Eagles scored 13 points off of 13 Hawks turnovers. Saint Anselm finished with seven points off 10 Post giveaways.
- The game featured three ties and four lead changes.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded one block and three steals, while Post tallied three blocks and seven steals.
- As a team, the Hawks had 22 assists on their 31 made field goals. The Eagles had 10 assists on their 31 made field goals.
- Ramirez led Saint Anselm with a career-high 25 points (10-17 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-7 FT) in addition to six rebounds. It is his second straight game setting a career-high in scoring.
- McCarthy finished with 16 points (4-9 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT) and nine rebounds for the Hawks and scored his 1000th career point, while Taylor added a season-high 18 points (6-8 FG, 3-5 3PT, 3-3 FT) off the bench.
- Deang led the Eagles with a game-high 32 points (13-22 FG, 4-10 3PT, 2-2 FT) and seven rebounds. Bol Akot added 13 points and eight boards for Post.
- This marked the 16th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 12-4 overall against Post in the series that began in 2004. It is the first win for the Hawks over the Eagles since the 2017-18 season.
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