MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team came away with a thrilling 78-75 victory over regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas in their non-conference finale on Wednesday night. It was the fifth straight win for the Hawks, who improved to 13-7 on the season after five players scored in double figures.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back on the road to take on Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play on Saturday, Feburary 1st at 3:30 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
Score: Saint Anselm 78, St. Thomas Aquinas 75
Records: Saint Anselm (13-7), St. Thomas Aquinas (14-7)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Wednesday, January 29th, 2025
Attendance: 280
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The game got out to a 6-6 start after the two sides traded scoring in the first three minutes. Senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland), junior Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.), and freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) all scored in the paint for Saint Anselm, while Hartnell Haye scored four points for St. Thomas Aquinas in the early going.
- The Spartans then went on a quick 6-0 run to take a 12-6 lead, forcing a timeout by the Hawks. The visitors scored three straight layups and capped off the run with a fastbreak bucket by Derrick James off a steal by Haye.
- Morissette provided a response for Saint Anselm with a midrange jumper and a triple on consecutive possessions, but Deshawne Crim countered with layup and a three-pointer of his own to make it 17-11 a little over six minutes in.
- The Hawks defense started to get some stops after that and held the Spartans scoreless for more than three minutes. That allowed them to put together a 7-0 run to take the lead, 18-17. Redshirt freshman Trevor Labrecque (Nashua, N.H.) provided Saint Anselm with a much-needed spark off the bench by making a fastbreak layup, recording a steal, and burying a three during that stretch.
- The lead toggled back and forth over the next few minutes of action. The Hawks maintained the lead, 22-21, after Oliver-Bush caught a lob pass from senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) and threw down an alley-oop jam.
- After a couple minutes without scoring for either side, senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) ended the drought with a three-pointer and then set up Oliver-Bush, who also hit from deep. That helped Saint Anselm extend its lead to 28-23 with five minutes left in the first half.
- St. Thomas Aquinas answered with three different players scoring layups to cut the deficit to two points, but Saint Anselm ended the half on a 9-2 run over the final three minutes to take a 38-29 lead at the break. Four different players scored and three players picked up assists for the Hawks during that sequence.
- The Spartans came out of the locker room with a different level of intensity. They got to work defensively with a frustrating full court press that helped them hold the Hawks without a field goal for almost six minutes, allowing them to generate an 8-0 run to start the second half. Troy'reon Ramos scored four of those points for the visitors to help trim the deficit to just one point.
- Oliver-Bush knocked down a couple of free throws a little over three minutes into the half to end the scoring drought for the Hawks, but Shaun Arnold tied the game at 40-40 with an and-one layup and then gave the Spartans the lead with a bucket in transition the next time down. That capped off a 13-2 run to open the second half for St. Thomas Aquinas.
- McCarthy tied it back up at 42-42 after sinking a pair at the free throw line, but consecutive fastbreak baskets by Ramos and Michael Parrotta, both assisted by James, allowed the visitors to take a four-point lead.
- Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) cut the deficit back down to one possession for the Hawks after following up his own miss with a layup. Arnold quickly canceled that out with back-to-back buckets in transition for St. Thomas Aquinas, who extended their lead to 50-44.
- Arnold continued to get to the rim and finished layups on the next two possession for the Spartans, which ended a run of him scoring eight straight points for his team.
- In between those baskets, Morissette responded for the Hawks by connecting from long range, but a fastbreak layup by Tyshon Judge at the other end made it 56-49 and forced Saint Anselm to call a timeout with 12 minutes remaining.
- Luis Risquez gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 58-50 with a layup shortly after. Morissette answered with another three-pointer for the Hawks and after two made free throws by Judge of the Spartans, McCarthy took it coast to coast and finished off the glass to trim the margin back down to five points.
- McCarthy made another layup a few possessions later, but layups by Tommy Kelly and Haye put St. Thomas Aquinas ahead, 64-57, with nine minutes left.
- Saint Anselm then orchestrated a 6-0 run of their own to make it a one-point game. All six of those points came on the fastbreak and Oliver-Bush finished the run with an emphatic, two-handed flush to get the crowd on its feet.
- After two made free throws by Ramos, McCarthy made another layup to keep the deficit at just a point for the Hawks with the score at 66-65.
- St. Thomas Aquinas put some stops together at the defensive end over the next few possessions and held Saint Anselm without a field goal for over four minutes. That allowed them to go on a 6-2 run to push their lead back up to five points with under three minutes to go. Four points by Crim and a huge tip-in layup by Risquez extended the Spartans lead to 72-67.
- McCarthy then got to the line and cashed in on a pair of free throws for the Hawks and on their next offensive trip, Ramirez splashed in a triple to make it a one-point game once again with the score at 73-72 with a little over two minutes to play.
- Saint Anselm forced a miss at the other end. Morissette grabbed the rebound and threw it ahead to Oliver-Bush, who threw down another dunk to give the Hawks their first lead since the 16:35 mark of the second half.
- The two teams exchanged free throws after that with Risquez making a pair for the Spartans and Ramirez making a pair for the Hawks, making it 76-75 in favor of Saint Anselm with under a minute on the clock.
- Freshman Will Davies (Saco, Maine) checked in for the Hawks after the free throws and came up with a huge play at the defensive end. He rejected a shot by Judge of the Spartans to keep his team in the lead.
- After calling a timeout and with a six-second differential between the shot and game clocks, Ramirez made a clutch fadeaway jumper from the foul line that made it a three-point game with 10 seconds left.
- St. Thomas Aquinas still had time for the potential game-tying shot. Arnold sprinted up the court and chucked up a three-pointer from the right wing that was off target. Morissette grabbed the rebound for Saint Anselm, but turned it right back over to Arnold. His three at the buzzer missed and the Hawks survived with the 78-75 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot the ball at an efficient percentage, making 26 of their 55 field goal attempts (47.3 percent) including 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) in the first half.
- St. Thomas Aquinas had an average night in terms of field goal percentage and went 33 for 77 (42.9 percent) from the floor including 19 for 35 (54.3 percent) in the second half.
- The Hawks made seven three-pointers on 20 attempts (35.0 percent), while the Spartans struggled from long distance and made only one of their 12 three-point tries (8.3 percent).
- Saint Anselm got to the free throw line 10 more times than their opponents. They went 19 for 23 (82.6 percent) at the foul line, while St. Thomas Aquinas went eight for 13 (61.5 percent) at the stripe.
- The Hawks maintained a slight 40-36 advantage in the rebounding battle. The Spartans grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the game compared to eight offensive boards hauled in by the Hawks.
- St. Thomas Aquinas scored a majority of their points inside, outscoring Saint Anselm in the paint, 54-36. The Spartans also held a 24-18 edge in fastbreak points, while the Hawks finished with a slight 10-8 lead in second chance scoring.
- Both benches made an impact in the contest. The Spartans reserves scored 22 points, while the Hawks reserves scored 17 points. Taylor finished with 11 points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-5 FT), four rebounds, and two blocks off the bench for Saint Anselm.
- The fast-paced matchup featured seven ties and 10 lead changes, many of which came late in the game to provide for a dramatic finish. The Hawks led by nine points at halftime, the largest lead of the game for either team. The Spartans led for most of the second half until the Hawks came back to take the lead in the final two minutes.
- St. Thomas Aquinas used an aggressive full court press the entire game and forced 21 turnovers by Saint Anselm. They scored 17 points off of those giveaways. The Hawks scored 12 points off of 10 turnovers by the Spartans.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded five blocks and five steals, while St. Thomas Aquinas totaled three blocks and 14 steals. Oliver-Bush set a new career-high with three steals for the Hawks, while Arnold had four takeaways for the Spartans.
- The Hawks moved the ball well offensively, resulting in 20 assists on their 26 made field goals. The Spartans tallied 13 assists on their 33 made baskets.
- Five players finished with 11 or more points for Saint Anselm. McCarthy led the Hawks with a team-high 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-4 FT) and nine rebounds, while Morissette and Oliver-Bush each scored 15 points.
- Seven players for St. Thomas Aquinas finished with six or more points. The Spartans were led by Arnold, who finished with a game-high 17 points (8-17 FG, 0-6 3PT, 1-1 FT), eight rebounds, and four steals.
- This marked the 11th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 9-2 overall against St. Thomas Aquinas in the series that began in 2004.
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