MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 1-seeded Saint Anselm College men's basketball team is set to host No. 6 Saint Michael's College in the Northeast 10 Conference Championship game, presented by Visit Central Florida, on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on SNY and NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and on tape delay on NESN, with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship. Tickets to the NE10 Championship game 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 and Saint Michael's College students will be admitted for free with a valid student ID.
Saint Anselm and Saint Michael's will meet for just the fourth time in NE10 postseason play, including a first-time matchup in the title game, despite the teams having met 136 times in the all-time series. Dating back to 1939, the Hawks hold a 78-56 record over the Purple Knights, including a 3-0 record in NE10 tournament action, winning all three matchups at Stoutenburgh Gym in 1989, 1993, and 2015.
The Hawks will make their 16th appearance in the NE10 championship, holding a 10-5 mark, with a 6-1 record on their home court. Saint Anselm has won its last two NE10 championship matchups, defeating the University of New Haven in both 2023 and 2020 at Stoutenburgh Gym. The Hawks lone home loss in the title game was in 2015 against American International College.
When holding the NE10's top seed, Saint Anselm is 3-1 in the league's finale. In NE10 tournament history, the Hawks are 64-33 dating back to 1983. This will be the first matchup between the #1 and #6 seeds in the NE10 Championship since #1 American Int'l defeated #6 Bryant University in 1994.
Saint Anselm won all three meetings against Saint Michael's this season, going 2-0 in NE10 play and 1-0 in a non-conference matchup at Stoutenburgh Gym early in the season. The average margin of victory was 10.3 points for the Hawks, as they have now won five straight games over the Purple Knights, including three straight at home.
Saint Anselm defeated No. 4 Assumption University, 90-77, on Wednesday in the NE10 semifinals, due to a well-balanced effort as five Hawks scored in double-figures. Senior captain
Josh Morissette, who was just named to the NE10's All-Conference First Team, led the team with 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore
Jovan Ristic put together an incredible display of rebounding, grabbing 16 boards while scoring 16 points as he recorded his 15th double-double of the season.
The Hawks are led by second-year head coach
Chris Santo '15, who was recently named Coach of the Year by the NE10, becoming the first person in league history to win both NE10 Player (2015) and Coach of the Year. Santo and his staff have guided the team to a 22-7 record after posting a 14-4 mark in league play during the regular season, securing the team's first regular season title since 2020.
Saint Anselm is 13-1 on its home court this season, posting just one loss at Stoutenburgh Gym for the first time since the 2019-20 season when the Hawks finished 14-1 at home. In NE10 postseason play, the Hawks have won 10 straight games from the friendly confines of Stoutenburgh Gym. Saint Anselm received votes in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Poll and are currently ranked third in the NCAA East Regional Rankings.
The Hawks sport the NE10's top offense, averaging 82.9 points per game, while also holding the top field goal percentage in the league, shooting 49.7% from the floor. The Hawks have knocked down a league-best 264 threes (9.1 per game), shooting 36.1% 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 15.9 assists per game.
Sophomore guard
Will Davies, who was named NE10 Player of the Year on Tuesday, is the nation's second-leading passer, averaging 7.3 assists per contest. Davies earned the league's highest honor, becoming the first Hawk since 2019 to do so, and the ninth all time.
Davies also earned a spot on the NE10's All-Conferenec First Team, averaging 13.7 points per game this season while scoring in double figures in 24 games. Davies has now recorded 10+ points in 18 straight games after scoring 17 in Wednesday's win over the Greyhounds.
The sophomore guard from Saco, Maine is shooting 52.8% from the field this season, the third-best mark on the team and the eighth-best in the conference. Davies ranks second on the team in steals (24), blocks (19), and double-doubles (5).
The NE10 Rookie of the Year also belonged to the Hawks this season, as freshman
Edward Onyia took home the award for Saint Anselm. The six-time NE10 Rookie of the Week became the 10th Hawk to be named Rookie of the Year by the conference. Saint Anselm has now had the top rookie in the league in back-to-back seasons, the first time an NE10 program has done so since the Hawks won three straight from 2011-2013.
Onyia earned NE10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Rookie Team recognitions and ranked second among freshmen in the conference in scoring, averaging 10.7 points per game, the fifth-best scorer for the Hawks.
The Hawks became the second program in league history to win Coach, Player, and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, joining Southern Connecticut State University, which pulled off the feat in 2014.
Saint Michael's defeated No. 3 Pace University, 54-48, in a first-round matchup before erasing a late four-point deficit to force overtime en route to an 81-72 victory over No. 7 Southern New Hampshire University in the NE10 semifinals. The Purple Knights have made it to the NE10 title game twice, winning both championships in 1999 and 2001.
Saint Michael's leads the NE10 and ranks fifth in the nation in free throw percentage at 79.6%. The Purple Knights also lead the conference in made free throws per game (16.0) while ranking third in three-pointers made per game (8.3), fewest turnovers per game (11.9) and bench scoring (22.5).
The Purple Knight's leading scorer, freshman
Quintin Floyd, was an NE10 All-Conference Third Team selection and All-Rookie Team pick, averaging 12.6 points per game. He knocked down 46 threes with 41 steals and is the top freshman scorer in the league.
For the latest on
Saint Anselm College Athletics, follow the Hawks on social media on
X,
Instagram, and
Facebook. Be sure to catch all of the
Saint Anselm Athletics action by subscribing to FloCollege.
