MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 1-seeded Saint Anselm College men's basketball team is set to take on the No. 4-seeded Assumption University in the Northeast 10 Conference Championship Semifinals, presented by Visit Central Florida, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks have the top seed in the NE10 Championship for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when Saint Anselm was crowned regular season champs. With the first-round bye, the Hawks make their return to the NE10 semis, having last made it in 2024.
Tickets to the NE10 Semifinal matchup can be found at tickets.saintanselmhawks.com. Admission for adults is $15, seniors (65+) is $13, and children (13 and under) is $10. Saint Anselm College students will be admitted for free with a valid student ID.
Second-year head coach
Chris Santo '15 has guided Saint Anselm to a 21-7 record with a 14-4 mark in conference play, a five-win increase in league action from a season ago, despite returning just two active players. The Hawks and Greyhounds will face off for the third time this season, as the NE10 foes split the regular season series.
In the first meeting at Stoutenburgh Gym, Saint Anselm came out on top, 100-86, as 100 points marks the most the Hawks have scored in an NE10 matchup this season. Junior
Jack Medalie paced the Hawks with 25 points, including 17 in the second half. In their second matchup down in Worcester, the Greyhounds secured the win, 94-82, at Andrew Laska Gymnasium on Feb. 18.
The Hawks have won at least one playoff game in NE10 postseason play every season since 2019-20, reaching the semifinals or better four times in that span. The last time Assumption and Saint Anselm met in the postseason was Feb. 26, 2011, a 77-61 win in the NE10 Quarterfinals at Stoutenburgh Gym.
Despite the Greyhounds winning four of the last five matchups in the all-time series, the Hawks have defended home court well, securing wins at Stoutenburgh Gym in 13 of the last 14 matchups in the Queen City. Saint Anselm is 74-62 all-time against Assumption in a series that dates back to 1936.
The Hawks are led by a balanced scoring attack on the offensive end as six different Hawks average at least 10.9 points per game. Senior captain
Josh Morissette is the team's top scorer at 16.8 points per contest, shooting 44.8% from the field and 43.1% from long range, the third-best mark from deep in the NE10. He has made the most threes in the league by a wide margin, knocking down 97 this season, 40 more than the next closest player.
The NE10's top passer, sophomore
Will Davies, is the engine of the offense, averaging 7.4 assists per game, ranking second-best in all of Division II. Davis was awarded NE10 Player of the Week once, as he finished the regular season averaging 13.6ppg, the second-most on the team, shooting 53.0% from the field, the third-best mark on the squad.
Medalie, sophomores
Jovan Ristic and
Paulius Rapolis, and freshman
Edward Onyia make up a frontcourt that has been effective all season long. Medalie is the Hawks' third-leading scorer and rebounder at 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Ristic has posted 14 double-doubles, tied for the eighth most in D2, leading the team while ranking second in the NE10 at 9.4 boards per game. Ristic also averages 11.5 points per game on an efficient 53.4% clip from the field. Rapolis ranks fourth on the team in rebounding as the 7-footer corrals 5.3 rebounds per contest.
Six-time NE10 Rookie of the Week,
Edward Onyia, has appeared in 27 games, 25 off the bench, placing second among freshman scorers in the conference at 10.9ppg. Onyia also ranks among the leaders in the NE10 in multiple statistical categories, as he is ninth in field goal percentage (51.5%), ninth in free-throw percentage (83.1%), and 18th in three-point percentage (34.4%).
As a team, the Hawks are the NE10's top offense, averaging 82.7 points per game, while Assumption ranks second at 80.1. Saint Anselm also holds the top field goal percentage in the league, shooting 49.5% from the floor. The Hawks have knocked down a league-best 257 threes (9.2 per game), shooting 36% from deep, the second-best clip in the NE10.
The Hawks also rank second in rebounding, grabbing 38.6 per contest while being tops in the league with 15.86 assists per game.
The winner of Wednesday's matchup will host the NE10 Championship game on Sunday, March 7 at 1 p.m., taking on the winner of No. 7 Southern New Hampshire University at No. 6 Saint Michael's, who also play on Wednesday night in Colchester, Vermont.
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