MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 7 seed Saint Anselm College men's basketball team earned a dominant 84-53 win over No. 10 seed American International on Friday night in the First Round of the Northeast-10 Championship. Junior
Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) scored a game-high 22 points for the Hawks, who won their opening round postseason game for the fifth straight season.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm advances to the NE10 Quarterfinals and will travel to No. 2 seed Southern New Hampshire on Sunday, March 2nd at 4:00 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 84, American International 53
Records: Saint Anselm (15-14), American International (4-25)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Friday, February 28th, 2025
Attendance: 578
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The two teams found success offensively over the first few minutes of action as the game got out to a 10-10 start. Jack Hall and Coleman Hopson each knocked down threes for American International, but Morissette responded for Saint Anselm with two threes of his own and eight of his team's first 10 points to even the score.
- The Yellow Jackets stayed hot with Hopson knocking down his second triple that put the visitors in front by five points, 15-10.
- After a layup by senior Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) for the Hawks, Hall and Justice Ellison each dropped in jumpers in the paint to extend the Yellow Jacket advantage to seven points.
- Saint Anselm answered with a 10-0 scoring run to leap into the lead. Morissette cashed in again from long range and McCarthy got downhill for another bucket as the Hawks pulled ahead, 22-19.
- Kanye Wavezwa tied the score back up at 22-22 with a catch-and-shoot three for American International, but Saint Anselm went on a 15-4 run over a seven-minute stretch after that, extending their lead to 11 points. Morissette and senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) each scored four points, and the home team scored 12 of their 15 points in the paint during that sequence.
- Another made three by Hopson allowed the Yellow Jackets to trim the deficit back down to seven points with 2:30 left in the first half.
- In the final two minutes of the half, sophomore Jordan Horne (Newport News, Va.) and freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) both scored layups and the Hawks took a 41-30 advantage into the break.
- Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) scored four of the first six points to start the second half as Saint Anselm increased its lead to 47-30. Ramirez followed that up with an and-one a few minutes later, which put the Hawks up by 20.
- American International had a solid next couple of possessions with Ellison scoring two straight baskets. The NE10's leading scorer finished a floater in the paint, then came up with a steal and threw down a fastbreak dunk which made it 56-40 and forced a timeout by Saint Anselm.
- The Hawks came out of the timeout and shifted the momentum. They held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for more than three minutes, which helped them score 13 unanswered points to increase their lead to 69-40. Oliver-Bush was a key spark for Saint Anselm during that run with seven points, including a three-pointer and a reverse slam.
- A layup by Wavezwa ended the drought for American International, but Saint Anselm continued to pour it on at the offensive end with a 9-2 scoring run that made it 78-44 with six minutes left. Four different players made field goals during that stretch for the Hawks, including Morissette with another long ball.
- With the game out of hand, the Hawks emptied their bench for the final few minutes of the game. Senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) and redshirt freshman Trevor Labrecque (Nashua, N.H.) both scored two points late as Saint Anselm went on to win by a final score of 84-53.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm had an excellent game shooting the ball and made 35 field goals out of 62 attempts (56.5 percent). The team shot over 56 percent in each half.
- American International had a tough game shooting with only 20 made field goals on 74 total shots (27.0 percent). They were limited to just eight baskets on 20.5 percent shooting and 23 points in the second half.
- Long range shooting was not really a factor for either team. The Hawks made only five three-pointers out of 18 attempts (27.8 percent), while the Yellow Jackets went six for 27 (22.2 percent) from behind the arc.
- Neither side got to the foul line that often and percentages were similar. Saint Anselm made nine of their 13 free throws (69.2 percent) compared to seven out of 10 made at the charity stripe (70.0 percent) by American International.
- The Hawks moved the ball well with 22 assists on their 35 made baskets. The Yellow Jackets totaled only nine assists on their 20 made shots.
- Saint Anselm dominated the rebounding battle with a 49-35 advantage on the boards. American International did, however, out-rebound Saint Anselm on the offensive glass, 16-10. Five different players grabbed at least five rebounds in the game for the Hawks.
- The Hawks attacked the rim all night long and outscored the Yellow Jackets in the paint, 56-26, as a result. The home team also got out in transition and held a 20-4 edge in fastbreak points. Second chance points were even with the visitors slightly leading in that area, 12-11.
- Saint Anselm committed 12 turnovers in the game, while American International had nine giveaways. The Hawks led in points off turnovers, 10-6.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded just two blocks and one steal, while American International posted two blocks and three steals.
- The bench unit for the Hawks made a solid impact with 17 points. They outscored the Yellow Jacket reserves by 10 points. Taylor led all substitutes with eight points off the bench for the Hawks.
- There were four ties and three lead changes in the game, all of which came early in the first half. Saint Anselm took the lead with 9:56 left in the first half and did not lose it for the remainder of the game. The Hawks led by 11 at halftime and led by as many as 35 points in the second half.
- Morissette led all scorers with 22 points (9-14 FG, 4-9 3PT) and had three assists and three rebounds. Three other players scored in double figures for the Hawks.
- Oliver-Bush scored 17 points (8-13 FG, 1-4 3PT) for the Hawks, his most in the last 11 games. McCarthy posted his 10th double-double of the season with 10 points (5-9 FG) and 10 rebounds. It was his 21st career double-double and his first since January 25th, which also came in a win over the Yellow Jackets.
- Hopson led American International with 17 points (7-11 FG, 3-5 3PT). Ellison, the NE10's leading scorer with 22.5 points per game entering the contest, was limited to just 10 points (3-18 FG, 0-3 3PT, 4-6 FT).
- 31 points is the largest margin of victory for Saint Anselm since their season-opener against Roberts Wesleyan, when the Hawks won by 34 points.
- This marked the 131st all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 84-47 overall against American International in the series that began in 1935.
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