NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After a strong run in the Northeast-10 Conference postseason, the No. 7 seed Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was eliminated in the Semifinal round against the No. 6 seed Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday evening. Despite the loss, the Hawks clinched their 11th straight season with a winning record.
Fifth-year
Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.) finished his playing career with a 29-point effort to give him 1,827 total points in his career, good for eighth-most in program history. He played all 40 minutes during Wednesday's game, putting him in fourth place all-time with 3,971 minutes logged in his career across 111 games.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm concludes their season with a 16-15 overall record. Southern Connecticut State advances to the NE10 Championship Final at Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, March 9th.
Score: Saint Anselm 73, Southern Connecticut State 82
Records: Saint Anselm 16-15 (14-11 NE10), Southern Connecticut State 22-9 (16-9 NE10)
Location: New Haven, Conn. (James Moore Field House)
Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Attendance: 2,116
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It was an offensive struggle between the sixth and seventh seeds to start the game as the two teams combined to start 0-6 from the field with three turnovers in the first two minutes. Southern Connecticut State's Josh McGettigan was finally able to get his team on track with a pair of baskets inside the painted area to put the Owls ahead, 4-0.
- Juniors Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) and Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) helped Saint Anselm tie up the score with a layup each, but Southern Connecticut State countered that with a 9-0 run, forcing a Hawks timeout with 13:35 remaining in the first half. Marty Silvera drilled a three-pointer for the Owls during that run.
- The Hawks offense started to click out of the timeout, igniting a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to just a point. Arbuckle got to the rim for a layup before knocking down a midrange jumper to make it 15-14, Owls.
- Arbuckle continued to stay hot on the offensive end, scoring six more in a row for Saint Anselm. The fifth-year guard got into the paint for an easy two while also making a pair at the line and connecting from the midrange level to keep his team down just a point with six minutes to go in the half.
- With 5:18 remaining, sophomore Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) drained a triple for the Hawks to tie the score, 23-23. On the defensive end, junior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) came away with a steal and was then fouled in the act of shooting. His two free throws gave Saint Anselm its first lead of the game.
- On the next offensive possession for the Hawks, Archer hauled in an offensive rebound and got the ball to Morissette, who drove to the lane with power and threw down a one-handed dunk through contact to keep his team ahead by two points.
- Morissette made his way to the paint for two more about a minute later, but Saint Anselm was held without a point for a three-minute stretch before halftime until senior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) beat the buzzer with a layup. The Hawks trailed the Owls, 34-31, at the break.
- Coming out of the intermission, two points from Arbuckle and another three from Morissette helped Saint Anselm tie it, 36-36. Southern Connecticut State then outscored Saint Anselm, 9-0, over the next minute and a half to take back the lead, 45-36. Silvera scored five and buried another three for the Owls on that run.
- Becker responded with his first three of the game to cut the deficit back down to six, but four quick points on the inside by Kazell Stewart and another two from Silvera put Southern Connecticut State ahead by double digits, 51-41, with 14:58 remaining.
- The Owls went up by as many as a dozen, but Arbuckle kept his team within striking distance by making a three from the left wing followed by a contested two-point jumper to make it an eight-point game.
- With 10 minutes left, Morissette swished home a tough fadeaway, but five quick points after that highlighted by a three by Sean James allowed Southern Connecticut State to take a 14-point lead, tied for their largest of the game.
- Saint Anselm got it back down to a 10-point deficit courtesy of consecutive baskets inside by Becker, but another three from Silvera put the home team back up by 13 with 6:25 to go.
- Becker continued to be aggressive on offense and made another layup while being fouled, making it 69-59. After a steal by Arbuckle, a layup by Morissette trimmed it to an eight-point Owl lead with five minutes to play.
- However, that was the closest Saint Anselm would get, as Mason Williams then cashed in from long distance for the Owls. Silvera also got to the rim for two more to put his team back in front by double figures.
- McCarthy scored six more for the Hawks in the final couple of minutes, but the Owls made eight free throws to close out the game and seal their spot in the NE10 Championship Final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- It was a very even game in terms of shooting percentage with both teams shooting an efficient 46 percent. Saint Anselm shot 29 of 63 from the floor (46.0%), while Southern Connecticut State shot 29 for 62 (46.8%). Both teams also made five threes in the game. The Hawks went five for 14 (35.7%) while the Owls went five for 22 (22.7%) from deep.
- Southern Connecticut State doubled up Saint Anselm in free throw attempts. The Owls went 19 of 26 (73.1%) at the stripe compared to 10 of 13 (76.9%) for the Hawks.
- The Owls additionally held slight edges in rebounding, 35-32, and points in the paint, 46-42. Bench scoring came at a minimum with Southern Connecticut State getting three points and Saint Anselm getting two from their respective reserve units.
- Southern Connecticut State held a 22-10 advantage in fastbreak points as well as a 16-11 lead in second chance scoring. The Owls also outscored the Hawks in points off turnovers, 16-6, and held a 16-6 lead in team assists.
- The Owls committed nine turnovers in the game, while the Hawks had 13. Saint Anselm recorded four steals and three blocks compared to eight steals and six blocks by Southern Connecticut State.
- Arbuckle led his team with 29 points (11-24 FG, 1-5 3PT, 6-6 FT), while Morissette added 18 points (8-12 FG, 2-4 3PT) to go along with five rebounds. Becker finished with 12 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT) and McCarthy had 10 points (4-9 FG, 1-1 3PT) for the Hawks. Both Becker and McCarthy grabbed eight rebounds apiece in the loss.
- Silvera led all scorers with 30 points (10-17 FG, 3-5 3PT, 7-11 FT) to go along with nine rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. Stewart added 21 and 10 rebounds while Cherif Diarra had nine and three blocks for the Owls.
- This marked the 51st all-time meeting between these programs. Saint Anselm is now 33-18 overall against Southern Connecticut State.
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