MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 7 seed Saint Anselm College men's basketball team saw its season come to a close on Sunday after suffering a 78-70 loss to No. 2 seed Southern New Hampshire in the Quarterfinals of Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) Men's Basketball Championship. Senior
Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) led all scorers with 30 points on 12 made field goals for the Hawks in what was likely his final collegiate game.
Score: Saint Anselm 70, Southern New Hampshire 78
Records: Saint Anselm (15-15), Southern New Hampshire (19-8)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House)
Date: Sunday, March 2nd, 2025
Attendance: 568
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Southern New Hampshire jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after a jumper by Jhamyl Fricas and four quick points by Paul Greene.
- Senior Jadon Archer (Enfield, Conn.) got Saint Anselm on the board with the team's first made field goal three minutes in, and two free throws by McCarthy made it 6-4.
- Over the next few minutes, the Penmen went on a 9-3 scoring run to extend their advantage to 15-7. McCarthy knocked down a three for the Hawks, but Royce Williams responded with one of his own for the Penmen and had five points during that stretch.
- The Hawks started to get some stops on the defensive end and held the Penmen without a point for over three minutes. Junior Juju Ramirez (Lawrence, Kan.) and freshman Erik Oliver-Bush (Trenton, N.J.) made shots for the visitors to help trim the gap down to 15-11.
- Greene helped reignite Southern New Hampshire with a steal and a fastbreak dunk. His layup a minute later put the home team ahead, 19-13, midway through the opening half.
- The two offenses then began to slow down as only five combined points were scored during the next three-plus minutes. McCarthy kept his team within seven points by making a layup and a couple of free throws.
- Late in the first half, the Penmen started to get in a groove from long range. Noah Harris and Kurtis Henderson each buried a triple on consecutive possessions, giving Southern New Hampshire a 13-point edge with 4:28 left in the first.
- Ramirez settled the Hawks down with a jumper in the paint, but Jordan Brathwaite responded with a dunk as the Penmen led, 32-19.
- Saint Anselm answered with a 7-0 run and held Southern New Hampshire scoreless for the next four minutes. Junior Josh Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) drained three shots at the free throw line, while McCarthy and Ramirez each made driving layups as the Hawks trimmed the deficit to 32-26.
- Greene ended the drought for the Penmen with a layup right before halftime, giving them a 34-26 edge at the break.
- Scoring the first five points of the second half was Southern New Hampshire as their lead grew back up to double digits. Brathwaite made a three and Williams got downhill for a bucket for the Penmen.
- Saint Anselm did not go away easily as they orchestrated a 9-2 run to pull back within six points. The Hawks scored four straight times inside the painted area with McCarthy making a pair of layups. Freshman Will Davies (Saco, Maine) ended the run with a fastbreak and-one, and his free throw made it 41-35.
- Greene scored four of the next six points for the Penmen, but McCarthy made another layup and Davies hit one from beyond the arc as the Hawks kept it within seven points with under 14 minutes remaining.
- After trading points, senior Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) sank a three-pointer for Saint Anselm, which made it a five-point game.
- The two teams then went cold as no points were scored over the next eight possessions. Greene ended that spell with a midrange jumper, and after a block by Greene at the defensive end, Henderson cashed in from long range to give Southern New Hampshire a 56-46 advantage with eight minutes left.
- The Hawks refused to give in as McCarthy muscled his way inside for two more layups, cutting the lead back down to six. Greene and McCarthy then exchanged buckets in the paint, which made it 58-52 with under six minutes to go.
- Ramirez helped the visitors pull within five once again after dropping in a layup off the glass, but Fricas buried a three and Brenden Choate knocked down a midrange jumper as the Penmen increased their lead to 65-57.
- The Hawks were able to get four consecutive stops at the defensive end, but failed to capitalize on offense and with one minute to play, they still trailed by seven.
- Saint Anselm fouled many times to extend the game, and they scored 11 points in the final minute, but Southern New Hampshire went 9-11 at the charity stripe late to seal the game by a final score of 78-70 and advance to the NE10 Semifinals.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Both teams had average games shooting the ball. Saint Anselm shot 26 for 65 from the floor (40.0 percent), while Southern New Hampshire shot 28 for 64 (43.5 percent).
- The Hawks struggled from behind the arc and went five for 21 (23.8 percent). The Penmen excelled from long range and shot six for 15 (40.0 percent) with three makes coming in each half.
- Free throw numbers were similar as Saint Anselm went 13 for 20 at the line (65.0 percent), while Southern New Hampshire went 16 for 21 (76.2 percent).
- The Hawks had only nine assists on their 26 made baskets compared to the Penmen's 15 assists on their 28 made field goals.
- Southern New Hampshire won the battle on the boards and out-rebounded Saint Anselm, 44-39. Both teams grabbed six offensive rebounds in the game. Three players hauled in seven or more boards in the contest for the Hawks.
- The Hawks maintained a slight 38-34 advantage in points in the paint. They also held a 9-3 lead in second chance points, but the Penmen dominated in transition with a 23-13 scoring edge.
- Saint Anselm committed 10 turnovers in the game, while Southern New Hampshire had nine giveaways. The Hawks led in points off turnovers, 11-8.
- Defensively, Saint Anselm recorded six blocks and five steals, while Southern New Hampshire posted six blocks and 10 steals.
- The benches for both teams made decent impacts and combined for 27 points. Davies scored nine out of the Hawks' 13 bench points to lead all substitutes.
- There was not a single tie nor lead chance in the game as the Penmen led wire-to-wire. They led by eight points at halftime and by as many as 13 points in the game.
- McCarthy led all scorers with his 30 points (12-17 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-9 FT), which matched his season-high and was his most in the last 20 games. It was also his ninth game with 20 or more points this season. The senior ended the year with 26 games scoring in double figures.
- Ramirez added 14 points (7-15 FG) and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Hawks.
- Greene led Southern New Hampshire with 27 points (10-16 FG, 7-9 FT), a game-high 11 rebounds, a game-high four blocks, and three steals. Henderson added 12 points (2-8 FG, 2-6 3PT, 6-7 FT), nine rebounds, a game-high five assists, and a game-high five steals for the Penmen.
- This marked the 81st all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm falls to 42-39 overall against Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College in the series that began in 1977.
- This was also just the third matchup between these two teams in the NE10 postseason. The Hawks are now 1-2 against the Penmen in the NE10 postseason, with their lone win coming in the conference title game during the 2016-17 season.
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