COLCHESTER, Vt. – Senior
Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) was one of six players to score in double figures for the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team, who ended their three-game losing streak on Tuesday night with an 86-82 victory at Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Hawks improve to 14-10 overall and 9-7 in conference play this season with the win.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns home to host Bentley in NE10 action on Saturday, February 15th at 3:30 p.m. from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. The Hawks will honor their four seniors from the class of 2025 in a pregame ceremony for Senior Day.
Score: Saint Anselm 86, Saint Michael's 82
Records: Saint Anselm (14-10, 9-7 NE10), Saint Michael's (7-18, 3-14 NE10)
Location: Colchester, Vt. (Ross Sports Center)
Date: Tuesday, February 11th, 2025
Attendance: 185
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The two sides traded points to open up the game. Rico Byrd scored the first five points for Saint Michael's, but baskets by three different players helped Saint Anselm grab an early 6-5 lead.
- The Hawks and Purple Knights continued to go back and forth early in the first half. McCarthy got his offense going with three consecutive field goals for the visitors. Saint Michael's responded with a layup by Byrd and a three-pointer by Jacob Duniver that made it 14-10 in favor of the home team.
- Junior Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) countered that with his second midrange jumper of the contest for Saint Anselm. After both teams made two free throws, Marcus Meeks made a layup to keep Saint Michael's ahead by four points, 18-14.
- The Hawks then tied the score at 18-18 with baskets in the paint by Morissette and junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.).
- Over the next three minutes, the Purple Knights held the Hawks without any points. Meeks made another layup and Greg Kenney connected on a shot from long range to make it 23-18, Saint Michael's.
- A layup by senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) ended the scoring drought for Saint Anselm with nine minutes left in the first half, but Meeks and Byrd each dropped in shots inside the painted area to extend the Saint Michael's lead to seven points.
- The lead for the Purple Knights grew to nine, their largest of the game, when Abdur-Rahman De Leon converted on a floater in the paint with under seven minutes in the half that made it 31-22.
- The Hawks then began to tighten up their defense, which resulted in the Purple Knights going scoreless for nearly four minutes. That also allowed the Hawks to go on a 9-0 run and tie the score at 31-31.
- Four different players hit shots for the visitors during that run, which was capped off by a three-pointer from freshman Will Davies (Saco, Maine). Freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) also scored a layup and dished out two assists during that sequence for the Hawks.
- Saint Michael's closed the half on a positive note and outscored Saint Anselm over the final three minutes, 12-5. CJ Crews knocked down a pair of triples for the Purple Knights, while Byrd came up with a steal and finished just before the buzzer to put his team ahead at halftime, 43-36.
- The Hawks used an 8-2 scoring run in the first 2:16 of the second half to trim the deficit down to just one point. That scoring surge by Saint Anselm once again featured four different scorers.
- After that, McCarthy got downhill and made a layup for the Hawks, but Crews poured in five points and buried another three at the other end to increase the Purple Knights' lead to 50-46.
- Saint Anselm refused to go away and generated a 7-2 run to tie the score at 53-53. Despite Byrd cashing in from behind the arc for Saint Michael's, McCarthy made a fastbreak layup, Morissette knocked down a shot in the paint, and Taylor hit a big three to even things up.
- Over the next few minutes, the two teams continued to go back and forth after trading buckets. Duniver made a three for the Purple Knights, but Oliver-Bush canceled that out with a three of his own on the very next possession. Byrd and Taylor then traded layups as the score remained tied at 58-58 with under 14 minutes remaining.
- Saint Anselm had several chances to take the lead, but failed to convert. De Leon eventually put Saint Michael's back in the lead with a three-pointer, but Oliver-Bush answered right back with his second triple of the half that tied things back up.
- A midrange jumper by Kenney put the Purple Knights back in front, but the Hawks responded with a 6-0 run after making shots on three of their next four offensive possessions. Ramirez made consecutive layups for the visitors during that sequence, which forced a timeout by Saint Michael's and allowed his team to take a 67-63 lead with 9:25 to play.
- With 6:43 left, senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) came up with a huge play for Saint Anselm. The point guard missed a three-pointer, but followed his own shot, grabbed the offensive rebound, and scored at the rim while being fouled. His free throw put the Hawks ahead by four points.
- Crews hit back for Saint Michael's with another three, but McCarthy came through at the other end with another layup off the glass that made it 72-69.
- Two free throws by Davies and a layup in transition by Taylor made it 76-70, Saint Anselm, with a little over four minutes left.
- After calling timeout, Saint Michael's soared back with a 7-0 run to retake the lead. Kenney scored five of those points for the Purple Knights, including a clutch three-pointer to put his team back in front with 2:31 to go.
- The two teams traded free throws over the next couple of possessions, but Morissette knocked down a huge triple for the Hawks with 1:47 remaining that made it 81-79.
- This time, Saint Anselm did not relinquish the lead as they ended the game on an 8-3 run. After Morissette's three, Davies got in the low post and spun past his defender before scoring off the window to put the Hawks ahead by four with 41 points seconds left.
- Crews made another big shot for Saint Michael's on the other side, rattling home a step back three from the corner to make it 83-82. The Purple Knights then forced a turnover and had a chance to take the lead, but the shot by Crews with 21 seconds on the clock did not fall.
- The Purple Knights began fouling and the Hawks went three out of four at the free throw line late in the game to help seal their victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot the ball efficiently and made 33 of their 71 field goal attempts (46.5 percent). The Hawks shot 18 for 35 (51.4 percent) in the second half.
- Saint Michael's struggled from the floor with only 26 made field goals out of 69 attempts (37.7 percent), including 10 out of 30 (33.3 percent) in the second half.
- The Hawks were cold from three-point range and made just five of their 19 shots from behind the arc (26.3 percent). They made four of those three-pointers in the second half.
- The Purple Knights made nearly half of their field goals from long distance. They went 12 for 31 from three-point range (38.7 percent), including seven for 16 in the second half (43.8 percent).
- Both sides got to the free throw line often. Saint Michael's had the slight edge by going 18 for 21 (85.7 percent) at the charity stripe including 12 for 15 (80.0 percent) in the second half, while Saint Anselm went 15 for 23 (65.2 percent) at the foul line including 10 for 13 (76.9 percent) in the second half.
- Ball movement was critical for the Hawks as they recorded 23 assists on their 33 made field goals. The Purple Knights dished out 10 assists as a team on their 26 buckets.
- Saint Anselm controlled the glass with a massive 50-39 advantage in the rebounding battle. Five players finished the game with five or more rebounds for the Hawks, who grabbed 14 offensive rebounds as a team compared to 10 offensive rebounds pulled down by the Purple Knights.
- The Hawks also doubled up the Purple Knights on the inside, outscoring them 48-24 in the paint. Saint Anselm held an 8-4 edge in second chance points and an 8-2 lead in fastbreak points as well.
- Both benches made an impact in the game and combined for 45 points. Saint Michael's maintained a slight 23-22 advantage in that area as Kenney led the way with 16 points off the bench for the Purple Knights.
- Davies and Taylor each scored 11 points off the bench as the only reserves to check in for Saint Anselm.
- The back-and-forth game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes. The Purple Knights led by seven at halftime, but the Hawks were able to tie the score several times in the second half. They eventually regained the lead a couple different times and outscored their opponents, 8-3, over the final two minutes to pull out the win.
- Both teams took excellent care of the ball. Saint Anselm committed just six turnovers in the contest, while Saint Michael's committed four giveaways. The Purple Knights outscored the Hawks in points off turnovers, 9-4.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded four blocks and two steals, while Saint Michael's posted four blocks and three steals. McCarthy blocked two shots to lead the Hawks.
- Six players scored in double figures for Saint Anselm. McCarthy led the pack with a team-high 20 points (9-17 FG, 2-3 FT) to go along with nine rebounds.
- Morissette and Oliver-Bush each scored 13 points, Davies and Taylor added 11 points apiece, and Archer posted 10 points. Archer and Ramirez grabbed 12 rebounds each for the Hawks.
- Crews led Saint Michael's with a game-high 25 points (7-23 FG, 5-13 3PT, 6-6 FT) in addition to five rebounds.
- This marked the 131st all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 75-56 overall against Saint Michael's in the series that began in 1939.
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