WORCESTER, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon in an 81-65 loss to Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play. Eight players finished the game with five or more points for the Hawks despite the loss.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hosts New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday, February 5th at 7:30 p.m. in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Score: Saint Anselm 65, Assumption 81
Records: Saint Anselm (13-8, 8-5 NE10), Assumption (15-6, 10-4 NE10)
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Andrew Laska Gymnasium)
Date: Saturday, February 1st, 2025
Attendance: 542
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Daouda Dembele scored the game's first five points for Assumption with a jumper in the paint followed by a three.
- After a made layup by senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) got Saint Anselm on the board, Assumption went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 14-2. Four different players scored during that run for the Greyhounds, including Jamal Barnes who knocked down a three. Leonard Tangishaka and Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton both threw down dunks in transition for the home team as well.
- Helping end the run for the Hawks was freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.). He got to the line and made a pair of free throws, while Archer followed that up with another layup to cut the deficit to 14-6.
- Assumption went over three minutes without a point, but Barilugbene Mawo and Myles Alcindor ended the drought by sinking back-to-back triples to increase the Greyhounds lead to 20-7.
- Saint Anselm was able to cut the deficit down to 10 points after a layup by senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) and a free throw by senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland), but Assumption used a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 29-12.
- That scoring surge for the Greyhounds once again featured for different scorers. They scored six points in the paint and Noah Payne connected from long range as the home team led by 17 points with eight minutes left in the first half.
- The Hawks responded with field goals on two straight possessions. After a layup by Taylor, sophomore Jordan Horne (Newport News, Va.) came up with a steal, which resulted in a fastbreak slam by Oliver-Bush that brought the margin back down to 13 points.
- Zamareon McCown responded with four quick points for the Greyhounds to put them back in front by 17, but the Hawks rattled off an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to single digits. Oliver-Bush was clutch for the visitors with five points including a three during that run, which made it a 33-24 game with four minutes left in the half.
- Just when it looked like Saint Anselm was making a comeback, Assumption made threes on three straight possessions to take an 18-point advantage, their largest lead of the half. Njavan Stewart made two of those threes for the Greyhounds, while Barnes made the other.
- Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) countered with a triple at the other end for Saint Anselm, who held Assumption without a point for the final two minutes of the half. However, the Greyhounds still maintained a 42-29 edge at the break.
- Assumption came out of the locker room on a 10-2 run to start the second half, which put them ahead by 21 points. Barnes scored five points and buried a three, while McCown also connected from deep for the Greyhounds during that sequence.
- The Hawks responded with buckets on three straight offensive trips. A couple of layups by McCarthy and another one by freshman Will Davies (Saco, Maine) allowed the Hawks to go on a 6-2 run that made it 54-37 with 14 minutes left.
- Saint Anselm was held without a point for the next four minutes, which allowed Assumption to score eight straight points. Davies temporarily ended the run for the Hawks with a fastbreak dunk, but Dembele canceled that out with three made free throws to put his team up by 26 points.
- The two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes. Oliver-Bush and junior Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) each finished at the rim for the visitors, but Assumption remained in the lead with seven minutes left.
- Redshirt freshman Trevor Labrecque (Nashua, N.H.) provided Saint Anselm with a spark by knocking down two straight three-pointers and followed that up with a pair at the foul line. That allowed the Hawks to cut the deficit down to 20 points with the score at 71-51.
- The Hawks continued to cut into the Greyhounds lead courtesy of a layup by Horne and five free throws between Davies and Taylor. That brought the score to 75-58, but with under two minutes remaining, the game was out of reach.
- Assumption connected on two more three-pointers in the final few moments and ran away with the 81-65 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm had a tough afternoon shooting and finished with just 21 made field goals out of 60 attempts (35.0 percent). The Hawks shot under 40 percent in each half.
- Assumption had an average game shooting the ball and made 31 shots out of 71 attempts from the floor (43.7 percent), including 17 of 35 (48.6 percent) in the first half.
- The Hawks struggled from long distance and were only able to knock down five of their 18 three-point attempts (27.8 percent).
- The Greyhounds shot it at a fairly efficient clip from deep and made 13 out of 33 (39.4 percent) from behind the arc.
- Saint Anselm got to the free throw line more than double the amount of times as their opposition. The Hawks shot 18 for 22 at the charity stripe (81.8 percent), while the Greyhounds made just six of their 10 free throws (60.0 percent).
- The Hawks recorded nine assists on their 21 made field goals. The Greyhounds tallied 18 assists on their 31 made baskets.
- Assumption maintained a slight 44-40 advantage in the rebounding battle. The Greyhounds grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the game compared to 12 offensive boards pulled down by the Hawks.
- Points in the paint were very even with the Greyhounds holding a 34-32 edge in that category. Fastbreak points were also extremely close with the Hawks leading, 21-20.
- A discrepancy in the game came on second chance points. Assumption outscored Saint Anselm in that area, 16-5.
- Both benches made huge impacts in the contest and combined for 65 points. The Greyhounds substitutes totaled 33 points, while the Hawks reserves scored 32 points.
- 10 different players scored at least three points in the game for Assumption. Four players scored six or more points off the bench for Saint Anselm.
- The game did not feature any ties nor lead changes as Assumption led wire-to-wire. The Greyhounds led by as many as 28 points, which occurred late in the second half.
- Both sides turned giveaways into scoring. Assumption scored 15 points off of 18 turnovers by Saint Anselm, while the Hawks ended with 14 points off of 12 giveaways by the Greyhounds.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded five blocks and eight steals. Assumption was all over their opposition at the defensive end and posted 10 blocks and 15 steals. Stewart blocked four shots, while Tangishaka blocked three shots and had four steals to lead the Greyhounds.
- Oliver-Bush and Taylor each scored 11 points to lead the Hawks. Taylor grabbed five rebounds, Oliver-Bush blocked two shots, and both players knocked down a three.
- Stewart and Barnes each finished with a game-high 15 points to lead the Greyhounds.
- This marked the 134th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm falls to 73-61 overall against Assumption in the series that began in 1936.
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