MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team opened its 2026-27 season in impressive fashion on Monday, earning an 83-72 victory over No. 15 Daemen University at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. The Hawks used a dominant second-half performance to overcome a halftime deficit and secure the ranked win, giving head coach
Trey Witter his first career victory at the helm of the program.
Highlights
- Saint Anselm opens the season 1-0 with a victory over No. 15 Daemen, its first ranked win in regular season play since last year's win over No. 22 Adelphi on Jan. 4. This also marks the fifth consecutive season-opening win for the Hawks.
- The Hawks improve to 2-6 all-time against the Wildcats, earning their first win in the series since Jan. 1, 2020. Monday's contest was also a rematch of March's NCAA Division II Tournament Sweet 16 matchup which Daemen won.
- First-year head coach Trey Witter begins his career with a 1-0 record after spending the last two seasons as the Hawks top assistant.
- Redshirt sophomore Alex Massung recorded a career-high 33 points and eight rebounds, shooting 11-18 from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line with three assists and a steal.
- Sophomore Luka Vudragovic matched his career high with 14 points in his first career game as a Hawk, while also grabbing eight rebounds to go with three assists.
- Freshman Kareem Hopkins scored eight points in 13 minutes, going 6-6 from the free throw line, along with four rebounds and two blocks in his collegiate debut.
- Saint Anselm held a 25-4 advantage in bench points and outscored Daemen 57-41 in the second half to fuel its comeback victory.
How it Happened
Daemen established an early advantage, building a 13-point lead in the opening half before taking a 31-26 advantage into the break. Massung led the Hawks with 11 first-half points, while junior Giulio Rigato added four points off the bench. Saint Anselm closed the half with an 8-1 run over the final 2:32, trimming the deficit to five points at halftime.
The Hawks continued to chip away after the intermission, with Massung and junior Paulius Rapolis helping bring Saint Anselm within one, 31-30. Daemen briefly pushed its lead back to five, but the Hawks responded with a decisive stretch. After Hopkins tied the game at 38-38 with a thunderous second-chance dunk, Rigato gave Saint Anselm its first lead since the opening minutes with a layup and converted free throw for a three-point play.
Saint Anselm continued to build its advantage, using a 10-2 run to turn a two-point lead into a 57-45 cushion. Vudragovic contributed during the surge, while sophomore Jakye Rainey and junior Greg Guidinger added key baskets during the scoring outburst. The Hawks maintained control down the stretch, extending their lead to as many as 14 points before closing out the 83-72 victory.
As a team, the Hawks shot 49.1 percent from the floor, including 60.7 percent in the second half, and converted 21 of 25 free throws. Saint Anselm also held a 25-4 advantage in bench scoring and a 16-9 edge in fast-break points.
Up Next
Saint Anselm men's basketball (1-0, 0-0 NE10) travels to Staten Island, N.Y. for the first of two games at the Tournament of Heroes hosted by the College of Staten Island, taking on St. Thomas Aquinas College (0-0, 0-0 ECC) on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center at 5 p.m. in a neutral site matchup.
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