MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team, who was recently ranked in the lastest NCAA Division II East Region rankings, fell to cross-city rival Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday night by a final score of 86-76. Junior
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) scored a team-high 20 points, but the Hawks suffered their fifth loss in the last six games.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back on the road to take on Pace in NE10 action on Saturday, February 22nd at 3:30 p.m. in Pleasantville, N.Y.
Score: Saint Anselm 76, Southern New Hampshire 86
Records: Saint Anselm (14-12, 9-9 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (16-8, 12-6 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
Attendance: 426
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Southern New Hampshire took an early 5-0 lead in the opening minute of the game after a made three by Royce Williams and a layup by Paul Greene.
- Morissette got Saint Anselm on the board with a jumper in the paint, but Southern New Hampshire pulled ahead, 9-2, after another layup by Greene and a pair of free throws by Kurtis Henderson.
- The Penmen defense held the Hawks without a point for almost three minutes after that. Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) ended that drought for the home team with a triple to make it 9-5.
- At the other end, Henderson responded with a three-pointer of his own to put the visitors up by seven points.
- Over the next five minutes, Saint Anselm turned the defense up and held Southern New Hampshire without a field goal. That allowed them to score 12 straight points to catapult into the lead, 17-12. Ramirez was huge for the Hawks during that run with another three and a pair of layups.
- After Greene scored a layup to end the dry spell for the Penmen midway through the first half, the Hawks used a 12-2 run during the next four minutes to extend their lead to 29-16. Senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) checked in off the bench and provided his team with five points including a three-pointer during that sequence, and senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) ended the run with a pair of layups.
- Williams got his team's offense back into rhythm with another shot from behind the arc that cut the deficit to 10. Williams then exchanged buckets in the paint with senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) as the Hawks led, 31-21.
- With three minutes left in the half, Ramirez knocked down his third triple of the night to put Saint Anselm in front by 13. Southern New Hampshire responded in a big way with Henderson sinking a triple and then coming up with a steal. He tossed a pass ahead to Brenden Choate, who threw down a fastbreak dunk to cut the deficit to 34-26.
- Morissette scored the next five points for the Hawks. He came alive with his first shot from long distance and followed that up with a midrange fadeaway.
- Choate scored the last points of the first half for the Penmen after getting into the paint, but the Hawks held a 41-30 advantage at the intermission.
- Scoring the first five points to open the second half was Williams. He buried a three in transition and then got to the rim for a bucket to cut the deficit to 42-35 for the Penmen.
- Freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) answered with a timely three at the other end to put Saint Anselm back in front by double digits.
- On the next couple of possessions, Jhamyl Fricas started to heat up for Southern New Hampshire. Williams set him up on three straight field goals including a pair from long range as the Penmen closed the gap to 47-45.
- Consecutive layups by Ramirez and some stops on the defensive end allowed Saint Anselm to increase its lead back up to six points with 13 minutes remaining.
- Southern New Hampshire generated some momentum with some stops on defense. They held Saint Anselm without a field goal for almost four minutes and used that to spark a 13-1 scoring surge to take a 58-52 lead. Henderson made some big plays during that stretch for the Penmen, scoring five points and dishing out three assists.
- Archer settled the Hawks down with five of their next seven points, but the Penmen continued to attack the rim and scored on four of their next offensive trips to extend their lead to 68-59 with 6:29 left.
- Oliver-Bush got the crowd back into it with a cutting one-handed dunk, but Greene countered with a layup followed by an alley-oop jam in transition that made it 72-61 and forced a timeout by the Hawks.
- Despite Morissette scoring 13 of the last 15 points for Saint Anselm, Henderson dropped 10 straight points for Southern New Hampshire including a pair of threes to help the Penmen close out the 86-76 road win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm shot the ball fairly well and made 26 of their 56 field goal attempts (46.4 percent). The Hawks shot 15 for 28 (53.6 percent) in the first half.
- Southern New Hampshire was also efficient and made 34 field goals out of 74 attempts (45.9 percent). After struggling in the first half by shooting 12 for 36 (33.3 percent), the Penmen were unconscious in the second half and shot 22 for 38 (57.9 percent).
- The Hawks also shot at a high rate from long distance, connecting on nine three-pointers out of 20 attempts (45.0 percent), including six out of eight (75.0 percent) in the first half.
- The Penmen had an average night shooting the long ball and knocked down 10 of their 29 three-point attempts (34.5 percent), including six out of 13 (46.2 percent) in the second half.
- Saint Anselm got to the free throw line more than twice as often as their opponents. The Hawks shot 15 for 22 (68.2 percent) at the stripe, while the Penmen went eight for 10 (80.0 percent) on free throws.
- Southern New Hampshire recorded 17 assists on their 34 made field goals. Saint Anselm totaled 16 assists on their 26 made baskets.
- The Penmen held a slight advantage on the glass and out-rebounded the Hawks, 39-38. The visitors also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the game compared to seven offensive rebounds pulled down by the home team. Four players finished the contest with five or more boards for Southern New Hampshire.
- Southern New Hampshire outscored Saint Anselm in the paint, 42-32, and nearly doubled up their opponents in fastbreak points, 19-10. Second chance points were even at 12-12.
- Saint Anselm committed 14 turnovers in the game, while Southern New Hampshire had just eight giveaways. The Penmen outscored the Hawks off of those turnovers, 20-8.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded two blocks and three steals, while Southern New Hampshire posted four blocks and six steals. Morissette led the Hawks with two blocked shots.
- The reserves made minimal impacts for both teams and combined for just 25 points in the game. The Penmen held a 13-12 edge in bench scoring.
- The game featured only one tie and two lead changes. Saint Anselm led by 11 points at halftime, but Southern New Hampshire stormed back in the second half and pulled off the 10-point victory.
- Four players scored in double figures for Saint Anselm. Morissette finished with a team-high 20 points (6-12 FG, 3-7 3PT, 5-5 FT), while Ramirez added 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-5 3PT).
- Oliver-Bush chipped in with 13 points (5-11 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT) and Archer posted his fourth double-double of the season for the Hawks with 10 points (2-4 FG, 6-10 FT) and a team-high 10 rebounds in addition to a team-high six assists.
- Henderson led Southern New Hampshire with a game-high 31 points (10-18 FG, 4-9 3PT, 7-8 FT) to go along with eight rebounds, a game-high seven assists, and a game-high four steals.
- Greene added a double-double with 17 points (8-13 FG, 1-2 FT), and a game-high 12 rebounds, while three other Penmen scored in double figures.
- This marked the 80th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm falls to 42-38 overall against Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College in the series that began in 1977.
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