THE BASICS
-Score: Saint Anselm 97, Assumption 78
-Records: Assumption (8-5, NE10 2-4), Saint Anselm (8-5, NE10 4-2)
-Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team dropped to the Hawks of Saint Anselm College in a Northeast-10 Conference battle on Wednesday evening. After the Hawks outscored the Hounds 50-29 in the first 20 minutes, Assumption edged Saint Anselm in scoring, 49-47, in the second half. The Hawks first half performance gave them the upper-hand in their ultimate 97-78 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Hawks took a nine-point lead just over four minutes into the first half. Freshman Tyler Arbuckle and sophomore Miles Tention knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to extend Saint Anselm's lead to 21-4 with 12:30 on the clock.
-Assumption pulled back within eight when red-shirt junior Jordan White (Prince Frederick, Md. / Clinton Christian School) added six points in a run that was capped off with a three by first year Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass. / Catholic Memorial / Bridgton Academy), 23-15.
-Saint Anselm responded with threes by Arbuckle and sophomore Joey Belli, and Miles hit back-to-back jumpers to put them up by 18 with 8:28 to go in the first half.
-The Hawks led by as many as 23 in the first before taking the 50-29 advantage into the halftime break.
-The Hounds started scoring in the second half with layups by red-shirt junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) and junior Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard). The Hawks responded with baskets from behind the arc by Gustav Suhr-Jessen and Danny Evans to regain a 23-point lead.
-Assumption came within 19 in the final minutes, but the Hawks held on for the final 97-78 victory
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-First year Saxon Thompson (Allen, Texas / The Episcopal School of Dallas / Wilbraham & Monson Acad.) led the Hounds with a career-high 17 points in the setback. White finished with 16 points and a team-leading six rebounds while Glover went 4-for-7 from three-point range to add 12 points for the visitors. Kelly rounded out double-digit scoring with 11 points to go along with a team-leading four assists.
-Suhr-Jessen led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to lift the Hawks to victory. Arbuckle added 23 points while Tention put up 17 for the hosts. Evans finished with 12 points and four assists for Saint Anselm.
-Assumption finished shooting 47.7% (31-65) from the field and went 8-for-25 from behind the arc. Saint Anselm shot 54.4% from the field and when 12-26 from three-point range.
-Assumption shot 80% from the free throw line while the Hawks finished shooting 68.8% from the charity stripe.
-The Hounds outrebounded Saint Anselm 36-33.
-The Hounds turned the ball over 14 times while the Hawks turned the ball over just five times. Saint Anselm scored 19 points off of Assumption turnovers.
UP NEXT
-The Hounds travel to Saint Rose on Saturday, January 11th for a NE10 contest at 3:30 p.m.