Men’s basketball defeated Southern New Hampshire 95-87 on Feb. 21. Junior Taylor Fortin, sophomore Tim Guers and senior Chris Braley all scored over 20 points for Saint Anselm in the victory. With the win, the Hawks finished the regular season with a 17-8 record, second in the NE10’s Northeast Division

About a week before, the crowd watched as two very strong NE-10 teams battled it out in a fight for victory. The Hawks pulled out a late game victory over the Stonehill Skyhawks to win 85-84.

The Hawks were led by sophomore guard Tim Guers who exploded for 37 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He also had three assists, two rebounds and one steal. Guers hit key shots deep into the second half and showed his clutch by helping the Hawks to come back from a six-point deficit with only four minutes left.

The Hawks also had help from senior forward Harrison Taggart who had fifteen points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two assists. Junior guard Taylor Forlin led the Hawks with 9 rebounds and also was a key figure in defense for the Hawks.

The Hawks started out hot but seemed to cool off at times. Saint Anselm and Stonehill traded the lead for most of the first half until the Skyhawks went up by five. Just before the end of the Half, junior guard Austin Nydegger hit an amazing deep three which kept the Skyhawks lead to only 2 at halftime. Nydegger with two men near the ball caught the pass with only 2 seconds grabbed a rebound and pulled up from three-point range.

The Hawks caught up and kept putting pressure on the Skyhawks. Saint Anselm in the second half played very well defensively and found many opportunities off transition baskets.

Something they have been doing all season long is finding the man open in transition which created problems for Stonehill’s defense.  With six minutes left the Hawks looked to be in trouble being down by five points.

The team fought hard and fired back against Stonehill with a lead of their own with only 2 minutes left in the game. Stonehill showed heart and determination as they keep crawling back into the game. Even when they were down by 5 with only a minute left they kept fighting and pushing St. A’s every possession. Tim Guers hit the most important shot of the night and that was a free throw with just 2 seconds left. Just after the free throw, the junior guard for the Skyhawks Isaiah Bess hit a deep three close to half court which could have tied the game.

The Skyhawks were led by Senior Forward Ryan Logan who had 29 points, two assists, and eight rebounds. The Skyhawks also had help from Junior Guards KJ Lee and Isaiah Bess who both had 16 points.

Both teams showed amazing hustle and heart on every play. It was like every play was for the game as both teams fought for possession.

The Crier caught up with junior forward for the Hawks Efthim Butka who had this to say on the game, “To sum up Wednesday’s game, we had a back and forth game with Stonehill, and it was pretty intense. It was a hard-fought victory that we really needed.”

The Hawks played Bentley last Saturday in which we saw the Hawks lost 91-85. Harrison Taggart led the Hawks with 29 points and hit his 1,000 point as a Hawk. He also had eight rebounds and 5 assists. The Hawks also had help from Tim Guers who had fifteen points, eleven rebounds, and seven assists.

The Falcons had help from sophomore guard Ryan Richmond who exploded for 34 points and 4 assists. The Falcons also had help from Sophomore Forward Kyle Bouchard who had 18 points and 7 rebounds.

Saint Anselm will host Southern Connecticut State University in the NE10 quarterfinals on Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.