MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) scored a game-high 19 points and knocked down five three pointers in the first half as the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team went on the road to pick up a Northeast-10 Conference win over cross-city rival Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Hawks improve to 5-4 in conference play and are tied for fifth place with the Penmen in the league standings.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back on the road on Saturday, January 18th to take on Bentley at 3:30 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.
Score: Saint Anselm 83, Southern New Hampshire 81
Records: Saint Anselm (9-7, 5-4 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (9-6, 5-4 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House)
Date: Tuesday, January 15th, 2025
Attendance: 657
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) started the game with the hot hand after making consecutive layups to put Saint Anselm in front. Kurtis Henderson knocked down an early three pointer to get Southern New Hampshire on the board.
- The two sides then traded threes with freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) cashing in from long distance for the Hawks and Henderson burying another triple for the Penmen that made it a 7-6 game.
- After another layup by Ramirez, Morissette started to catch fire at the offensive end for Saint Anselm. The junior guard scored 10 straight points for the Hawks by himself after making a pair of layups followed by back-to-back threes, which gave his team a five-point advantage.
- Derrick Grant helped Southern New Hampshire respond after connecting from long range and following it up with a layup to cut the deficit back down the three points with 12 minutes left in the first half.
- The Hawks then went on a quick 9-2 scoring surge after making threes on three straight possessions. Freshman Will Davies (Saco, Maine) opened the run with his first points of the game and Morissette continued his offensive eruption with two more triples as Saint Anselm increased their lead to 28-18.
- After Morissette subbed out of the game, Davies took the reigns on offense for the Hawks. The freshman scored seven of the next 10 points for Saint Anselm and buried his second three of the night which made it a 38-24 game.
- Ray Daniels settled Southern New Hampshire down with two straight buckets including a three. The Penmen then capitalized off a Hawks turnover with Jhamyl Fricas draining a triple that capped off a brief 8-0 run and cut the lead down to 40-32 with under six minutes left in the half.
- Saint Anselm went a couple minutes without points, but Morissette quickly ended the drought with his fifth three pointer of the half. Oliver-Bush and Ramirez followed that up with midrange field goals and the Hawks' lead grew to 15 points as part of a 7-0 sequence.
- Southern New Hampshire responded well and ended the half on a 10-2 run. Fricas and Henderson each knocked down triples to help the Penmen go into the locker room trailing, 49-42, at the break.
- Senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) started the second half with a layup off the glass for his first points of the game for the Hawks, but Jordan Brathwaite answered with a three pointer as the Penmen pulled within six points.
- Also scoring his first points of the game early in the half for Saint Anselm was senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland). Despite a cold opening 20 minutes, McCarthy started the second half with a triple to increase the lead to 54-45 for the Hawks.
- About a minute later, McCarthy got to the rim and finished through contact. His free throw put Saint Anselm up by a dozen with 17 minutes left.
- Oliver-Bush then came up with a couple of big baskets for the Hawks. The freshman got one to fall while being fouled for a three-point play and then forced a timeout by the Penmen a couple possessions later with a huge three in transition as Saint Anselm was in full control, 65-46.
- Southern New Hampshire refused to go quietly and got back in sync on both ends of the floor. The Penmen rattled off an 11-5 run that cut the lead down to 13 points. Fricas and Noah Harris each cashed in from deep during that run for the Penmen, who held the Hawks to just one made field goal in a five-minute span.
- The two teams exchanged slam dunks with under eight minutes remaining. Grant threw down a slam at one end for the Penmen, while Oliver-Bush answered with a jam at the other end for the Hawks, who still held a 76-63 edge.
- Southern New Hampshire put the clamps on in the final seven minutes of the game. After the dunk by Oliver-Bush at the 7:24 mark, the Penmen held the Hawks without a field goal for over six minutes.
- That intensity on the defensive end led to a shift in the momentum. Southern New Hampshire went on an 11-1 run to make it a one-possession game with the score at 77-74 and 1:05 to go. Kyle Rocker started the run by knocking down a three and Henderson poured in four points for the Penmen during that sequence.
- Archer produced a clutch bucket for Saint Anselm coming out of a timeout with under a minute left, but Fricas provided an immediate answer with a three for Southern New Hampshire that made it a two-point game.
- The Penmen were forced to foul trailing by two with little time on the clock. Ramirez converted at the line for the Hawks with two free throws to extend their lead to four points, but Henderson dropped in a layup at the other end and with 10 seconds left, Saint Anselm held a 81-79 lead.
- Southern New Hampshire gave a quick foul once again and this time it was Davies who stepped to the line and buried two clutch free throws to put Saint Anselm back ahead by four.
- With five seconds left, Henderson was fouled. His two free throws brought the Penmen back to within two points. The Hawks turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, but the potential game-winning three pointer by Brenden Choate of Southern New Hampshire was offline and Saint Anselm held on for the 83-81 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot the ball efficiently, going 28 for 60 (46.7 percent) from the floor. Southern New Hampshire struggled with their field goal percentage, making only 27 of their 72 attempts (37.5 percent).
- Almost half of the Penmen's field goals came from behind the arc. They went 13 for 37 (35.1 percent) from long range, including eight for 20 (40.0 percent) in the first half. The Hawks nearly matched that by going 10 for 26 (38.5 percent) from three-point range.
- Both teams shot it well at the free throw line. Saint Anselm knocked down 17 of their 21 free throw attempts (81.0 percent), while Southern New Hampshire made 14 of their 16 foul shots (87.5 percent).
- The Penmen slightly out-rebounded the Hawks, 40-38. The Penmen also maintained a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass.
- Saint Anselm outscored Southern New Hampshire in the paint, 32-22, and in fastbreak points, 14-10. The Penmen held a 9-6 lead in second chance points.
- Nine players for the Penmen scored with eight of them making at least one field goal. That led to the home team outscoring the Hawks, 29-14, in bench points.
- The game featured only two lead changes, both of which came in the opening two minutes. There was not a single tie in the contest. Saint Anselm controlled the lead from 18:44 in the first half until the final buzzer.
- Southern New Hampshire was stingy on the defensive end and turned 12 Saint Anselm turnovers into 15 points. The Hawks recorded just three points off of six giveaways by the Penmen.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded four blocks and five steals, while Southern New Hampshire tallied three blocks and seven steals.
- The Hawks moved the ball fairly well with 13 assists on 28 made baskets. The Penmen also shared the rock with 14 assists on 27 made field goals.
- Morissette and Oliver-Bush led Saint Anselm with 19 points apiece. Morissette made five threes in the first half and grabbed five rebounds, while Oliver-Bush knocked down two triples and went 5-6 at the free throw line. For Morissette, it was his 12th game of the season posting 10 or more points and his sixth in the last seven games.
- Archer had a team-high 10 rebounds for the Hawks to secure his third straight game with double digit boards. He also matched his season-high with two blocks.
- Fricas and Henderson led the Penmen with 19 points each, while Grant registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
- This marked the 79th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 42-37 overall against Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College in the series that began in 1977.
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