PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – In their regular season finale against Pace University on Tuesday evening, the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was handed a loss for the first time in five games. The Hawks have ended the regular season 14-14 overall and 12-10 in Northeast-10 Conference play. Despite the loss, Saint Anselm has locked up the No. 7 seed in the upcoming NE10 Men's Basketball Championship.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm has earned a First Round home game in the conference postseason. The Hawks will host No. 10 seeded University of New Haven on Friday, March 1st from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. in a rematch of last year's NE10 title game.
Score: Saint Anselm 57, Pace 78
Records: Saint Anselm 14-14 (12-10 NE10), Pace 18-10 (14-8 NE10)
Location: Pleasantville, N.Y. (Ann and Alfred Goldstein. Health, Fitness & Recreation Center)
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Attendance: 451
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It was tough sledding out of the gate for both offenses as the first points of the game did not come until almost three minutes in. Sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) made the first basket of the night for the Hawks and junior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) poured in four straight points down low to make it 6-2, Saint Anselm.
- After another layup by McCarthy, fifth-year Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) took matters into his own hands and connected twice from three-point range on consecutive possessions, giving the Hawks a 15-7 advantage with 13:05 to go in the first half.
- Pace called a timeout to regroup and came out of the breather with a 10-2 run to tie the score, 17-17. Tray Alexander scored four points for the Setters during that three minute sequence.
- Arbuckle countered that with a midrange jumper to give Saint Anselm the lead back, but another field goal from Alexander followed by a triple from Sean Bresnan gave Pace its first lead of the night.
- Despite four more points from Arbuckle, Alexander continued to lead the Setter offense and cashed in on three straight triples to increase Pace's lead to 36-27.
- The Hawks scored just two points over the final four-and-a-half minutes of the first half and trailed by 11 points at halftime.
- Pace did not take their foot off the pedal coming out of the locker room. The Setters went on a 9-0 run to start the second half, pushing their lead up to 20 points and forcing a Hawks timeout less than two minutes in. Bryan Powell poured in five during that stretch for Pace.
- McCarthy finally scored Saint Anselm's first basket in over five minutes of game time, but four more from Powell allowed Pace to keep their 20-point advantage intact.
- With seven minutes remaining in the game, a three from Powell and a made layup by Jaden Kealey made it 68-41, Setters. Coming out of a timeout, junior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) knocked down a three for the Hawks, but a 6-0 run by Pace after that allowed them to take a 30-point lead, their largest of the night.
- Saint Anselm called another timeout to remove the starting unit and insert their reserves, who went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 23 points. Sophomore Elias Rodl (Berlin, Germany) led the bench unit with five points and drained a three during that sequence.
- Junior Keith Robinson (Phillip Island, Australia) also entered the game for the Hawks and connected on a pair of triples in the final minute, but Saint Anselm fell by a 21-point margin.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Pace shot over 10 percent higher from the field then Saint Anselm in the game. The Setters made 33 of their 67 attempts (49.3%) while the Hawks went 23 of 59 from the floor (39.0%). Both teams shot the same percentage from three-point range with Pace connecting on seven out of 21 (33.3%) and Saint Anselm going six of 18 (33.3%) from deep.
- Coincidentally, both sides also shot the same percentage at the free throw line by making five out of six (83.3%) apiece.
- The rebounding battle was tied as well with both teams bringing down 35 boards. The two benches contributed 13 points apiece on the evening, while the Setters held an 11-9 advantage in fastbreak points.
- A huge differential in the game was points in the paint. Pace outscored Saint Anselm in that category, 50-26. Another discrepancy came in the turnover column with the Hawks committing 15 compared to just seven made by the Setters. Pace took advantage of that statistic and outscored Saint Anselm, 19-7, in points off turnovers while also holding a 12-3 edge in second chance points
- The Hawks recorded three steals and three blocks in the game. The Setters finished with nine thefts and five rejections.
- Arbuckle led the way for Saint Anselm with 16 points (6-16 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2FT), while McCarthy added 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds. Robinson and Rodl combined to score 13 off the bench for the Hawks. Rodl set a new season-high with five.
- Four Pace players finished with double-digit scoring nights including Alexander who had a game-high 20 points and eight assists as well as Powell who had 19 points and 10 assists.
- This marked the 40th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Pace. The Hawks fall to 27-13 overall versus the Setters.
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