The Saint Anselm men’s basketball team hit 17 three pointers to rout Franklin Pierce University 110-81 on Feb. 1. The Hawks picked up the tempo early on, leading the game 24-8 after a few minutes, forcing the Ravens call a timeout. The Hawks continued to pound the ball by grabbing rebounds and making sure Franklin Pierce did not have time to settle down defensively. Even at the start of the game the Hawks relied on very good ball movement to weave through Franklin Pierce’s defense.

The Hawks scored on 15 of their first 20 possessions due to their great movement of the ball. Saint Anselm seemed unguarded at times as unloaded from beyond the arc and did a very good job grabbing rebounds. With a score of 67-31 at halftime, it looked as if a blowout was bound to happen. The Hawks continued to play aggressively and drove to the basket.  Sophomore guard Tim Guers exploded for 28 points and shot 45% from 3-point range. Senior forward Chris Braley grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 14 points against a bigger Franklin Pierce side.

The Hawks cooled down after a dominant first half and allowed some life into Franklin Pierce. The Ravens cut the lead down to 30 at one point. Saint Anselm continued to work the ball in transition and get points off great defensive work.

The Ravens were led by Sr. Guard Matt Banton who scored 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Ravens also had help from Mike McDevitt who scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. The Ravens tried to keep crawling back into the game but the game got out of hand very quickly.

The Crier caught up with Freshman Guard for the Hawks, Josh Hyon, who said “We shot the ball very well to start the game off and everything was clicking for us. That’s why we had a 30-point lead to start off the game.”

The Franklin Pierce Ravens have a 10-11 record (7-8 in conf.) and will face Saint Michael’s College next Wednesday.

The Hawks were on an 8 game win streak at this point until they met up with Merrimack College on Feb. 4. They lost a nail-bitter to Merrimack with the final score being 78-76. Both sides traded deep two points shots but in the end Merrimack held on.  Sophomore guards Tim Guers and Cody Ball led the way for the Hawks with each scoring over 20 points. Chris Braley grabbed nine rebounds and scored nine points. A very good Merrimac side was led by Freshman Guard Juvaris Hayes, who had a double-double of 21 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. The Warriors also had a great game out of Junior Guard Kyle Howes, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds.  The Warriors finished the weekend at 17-6 with a 11-5 in conference record which places them second in the NE-10. They will play Stonehill College next Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

Saint Anselm hosted and defeated Assumption College 81-61 on Feb. 7. The 20-point victory increased the Hawks’ overall record to 14-7 and conference record to 10-7.

The Hawks host St. Michael’s at home on Sat. Feb. 11 in a conference matchup.