GOFFSTOWN, N.H. – Thanks to a basket with just 3.2 seconds left, the Saint Anselm Hawks escaped with a 71-70 victory over Jefferson University on Sunday.
That score came from Senior Danny Evans (Leeds, United Kingdom), who ended the contest with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Junior Chris Paul (Highland Mills, N.Y.) ended with a game-high 25 points, putting him just one short of a thousand for his career.
Saint Anselm maintained a lead throughout most of the first half but a last-second triple by Jefferson cut the halftime lead to 35-33 before storming back early in the second half.
The Hawks closed regulation with a 17-8 scoring run, overcoming a 62-54 deficit with just over eight minutes left. Jefferson maintained a five-point lead with 1:52 to go before Paul buried two free throws.
Jefferson made only one of its two free throws on its next offensive possession. After a missed layup by Saint Anselm with 18 seconds left, the Hawks were forced to foul and send the Rams to the foul line again, ahead by only a 70-69 margin with 11 ticks left on the second half scoreboard.
Missing the front end of a one-and-one, the rebound was pulled down by freshman Matt Relihan (Lynnfield, Mass.). Receiving the ball just outside the arc, Evans cut to the baseline and drove to the hoop and got the go-ahead layup. Jefferson brought the ball across half court and lost control of the ball out of bounds, locking down the Hawks victory.
Saint Anselm (6-3, 3-1 Northeast-10) faces Bridgeport at home on Wednesday (4:30 p.m.) in their final game of 2019.
