PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Freshman
Will Davies (Saco, Maine) set a career-high in scoring with 18 points off the bench, but the Saint Anselm College men's basketball team fell to nationally ranked #16 Pace by a final score of 94-84 on Saturday. Davies was one of five players to score in double figures for the Hawks in the loss.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm closes out the 2024-25 regular season at Southern Connecticut State in New Haven, Conn. on Tuesday, February 25th at 7:30 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 84, #16 Pace 94
Records: Saint Anselm (14-13, 9-10 NE10), #16 Pace (22-5, 14-5 NE10)
Location: Pleasantville, N.Y. (Goldstein Athletics Center)
Date: Saturday, February 22nd, 2025
Attendance: 281
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) scored the first four points of the game for Saint Anselm, but Pace jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Trey Boyd III knocked down a couple threes and Josh Hopson made another to get the Setters going early on.
- Consecutive layups by Archer and junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) made it a one-possession game for the Hawks.
- After that, the Setters held the Hawks without a field goal for over three minutes, allowing their lead to inflate to 23-11. Tray Alexander scored five points and Jabari Nurse buried a triple for the home team during their 12-3 scoring run.
- Davies checked in off the bench and ended the cold spell with a three-pointer for Saint Anselm. Senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) hit one from behind the arc a few possessions later, allowing the Hawks to cut the deficit to 25-17 midway through the first half.
- Nurse scored the next four points for Pace, but the Hawks were able to stay within striking distance after making four free throws followed by another bucket in the paint by Archer.
- Despite trimming the margin down to six points, Saint Anselm went scoreless for the next five minutes. The Hawks missed three shots and committed three turnovers during that stretch, which allowed the Setters to go on a 13-0 run to extend their lead to 42-23. Alexander had six points and Boyd III added five for Pace during that span.
- Taylor got the Hawks back on the board with a layup to end the drought and senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) added a pair at the free throw line.
- The Setters answered with baskets in the paint by Hopson and Nurse, but the Hawks ended the half with a three by freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) and a layup by McCarthy as they trailed at the break, 48-34.
- Boyd III opened the second half with an early midrange jumper for Pace. After that, Saint Anselm ripped off a 9-0 run of their own to pull back within seven points. McCarthy scored five of those points for the Hawks and Oliver-Bush threw down a dunk to cut the deficit to 50-43.
- The two teams then traded scoring over the next couple of possessions. Davies kept the Hawks down by single digits with five points after knocking down another three-pointer and sinking a midrange jumper.
- The Setters once again put some stops together on the defensive end and held the Hawks without a point for another three-to-four minute stretch. The home team used an 8-0 scoring surge to increase their lead back up to 16 points. Alexander scored another couple of buckets for Pace, giving them a 66-50 lead with 10 minutes left.
- Saint Anselm got the offense back under control with points on their next five possessions. Redshirt freshman Greg Cantwell (Glen Head, N.Y.) converted from long distance for the Hawks, but they were unable to get stops on the defensive end as the Setters still led, 75-60.
- The Hawks got one last boost of momentum late in the half and went on an 8-0 run to make it a seven-point game. The visitors scored in the paint on four straight possessions with Davies making a couple of layups, forcing a timeout by the Setters with five minutes remaining.
- A three-pointer by Alexander put Pace back in the lead by double digits, but Saint Anselm got it back to within six after a couple of free throws by Ramirez and another jumper by Davies.
- Boyd III and Ramirez then exchanged triples as the Hawks trailed with under three minutes left, 83-75.
- Ramirez cashed in from deep again with less than a minute to go, but Saint Anselm was still trailing by multiple possessions and was forced to start fouling. Pace made nine out of 10 at the free throw line in the final couple of minutes to seal their 94-84 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Both teams had extremely efficient games shooting the ball. Saint Anselm shot 29 for 59 from the field (49.2 percent), while Pace shot 33 for 59 from the floor (55.9 percent).
- The Setters, who shot 19 for 33 in the first half (57.6 percent), shot over 50 percent in both halves. The Hawks went 18 for 34 from the field (52.9 percent) in the second half.
- Pace also shot the ball well from long distance, making eight of their 15 attempts from three-point range (53.3 percent). Saint Anselm made seven of their 20 shots from beyond the arc (35.0 percent).
- Both teams got to the free throw line often and had success. The Hawks went 19 for 23 at the foul line (82.6 percent), while the Setters went 20 for 22 at the charity stripe (90.9 percent) and knocked down 15 for 16 (93.8 percent) in the second half.
- Pace recorded 18 assists on their 33 made field goals. Saint Anselm totaled 15 assists on their 29 made baskets.
- The Setters held a slight advantage on the glass and out-rebounded the Hawks, 31-30. The Hawks grabbed 10 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 Saint Anselm.
- Saint Anselm outscored Pace in the paint, 42-38, and in second chance points, 16-9. The Setters maintained a dominant 18-4 edge in fastbreak points.
- The Hawks committed 14 turnovers in the game, while the Setters had 12 giveaways. The Setters outscored the Hawks off of those turnovers, 22-16.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded two blocks and three steals, while Pace posted four blocks and eight steals. Ramirez led the Hawks with two steals.
- The bench unit for the Hawks outscored the reserves for the Setters, 29-4. Davies led the Hawks with 18 of those points, while Taylor added seven points off the bench.
- The game did not feature any ties nor lead changes as Pace led from start to finish. The Setters led by 14 points at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the game.
- Five players scored in double figures for Saint Anselm. Davies finished with a career-high 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3PT) to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal.
- McCarthy added 17 points (4-8 FG, 9-9 FT), grabbed six rebounds, and dished out five assists for the Hawks, while Archer, Oliver-Bush, and Ramirez also scored in double figures.
- Alexander led Pace with a game-high 35 points (14-19 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5-5 FT) to go along with a game-high eight assists, four rebounds, and a game-high four steals. Boyd III added 26 points (10-15 FG, 4-8 3PT, 2-2 FT) for the Setters.
- This marked the 42nd all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm falls to 27-15 overall against Pace in the series that began in 1997.
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