Twitty scored 21 of his season-high 23 points in the second half (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

Arbuckle leads five Hawks in double-figures with 24 points

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 8, 2020) – Saint Anselm College pulled even with Stonehill College, ranked No. 7 in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll, atop the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division standings with an 89-73 triumph in NE10 men's basketball action inside Stoutenburgh Gymnasium this afternoon.

Saint Anselm and Stonehill are now tied atop the NE10's Northeast Division standings with four games to play, the two teams a game in the loss column ahead of idle Franklin Pierce University. Despite the loss, Stonehill clinched a spot in the upcoming NE10 Tournament that commences with first round play on Friday, February 28. The Skyhawks will be making their 33^rd NE10 Tournament appearance. 

Leaders

Stonehill

Brandon Twitty Senior, Guard: Season-high 23 points (8-for-15, 3-for-5 threes, 4-for-4 FTs), including 21 in the second half.

Monty Urmilevicius Junior, Forward: Career-high 22 points (9-for-16), including 12 in the second half, with six rebounds.

Will Moreton Senior, Guard: Seven points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Saint Anselm

Tyler Arbuckle Freshman, Guard: 24 points (7-for-15, 3-for-7 threes, 7-for-7 FTs), including 22 in the first half, with three rebounds, three assists and five steals.

Chris Paul Junior, Forward: 20 points (6-for-11, 8-for-8 FTs), including 12 in the second half, with three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Danny Evans Senior, Guard: 16 points (5-for-10, 2-for-4 threes), six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Gustav Suhr-Jessen Junior, Forward: 15 points (6-for-9), all in the second half, with two rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.

Miles Tention Sophomore, Guard: Ten points (4-for-9), four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

How it Happened

• Urmilevicius added a career-best 22 points for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

  Stonehill scored the first four points of the game on baskets from Urmilevicius and junior Owen Chose over the first two minutes, but Saint Anselm answered with a 13-1 run, led by five points by Arbuckle, to grab an eight point lead (13-5) with 13:30 left in the first half after back-to-back three-pointers from Evans and Tention.
• Saint Anselm wouldn't trail again, stretching its lead to 16 (25-9) after scoring ten straight, capped by a Tention three with 9:13 left.
• Saint Anselm's lead grew to 20 (33-13) on an Arbuckle jumper with 6:36 remaining in the half and then grew to 23 (39-16) two minutes later after back to back three-pointers by Arbuckle.
• Saint Anselm's first half lead peaked at 24 (45-21) with two free-throws by junior Spencer Cline with 1:21 remaining in the half, before carrying a 23-point advantage (47-24) into the second half.
• Evans pushed the Saint Anselm lead to 25 (49-24) with the opening basket of the second half and Stonehill wouldn't seriously threaten the rest of the way.
• Stonehill closed within 15 (75-60) with 6:31 to play after five-straight points by Twitty but would get no closer.

Noteworthy

• Twitty drained three three-pointers, giving him 182 three-point field goals for his career, to move into sixth in program history past Adam Bramanti, '16 (180).
• Stonehill saw its four-game winning streak, which marked the longest current upswing in the NE10, end.
• Saint Anselm took advantage of 52.7-percent shooting (29-for-55), including 8-for-20 (40%) from three-point distance, connecting on 6-of-12 (50%) threes in the first half. Stonehill finished shooting 48.3% (29-60), including 59.4% (19-32) in the second half, but couldn't overcome 35.7% shooting (10-28) in the first half, hitting just 4-of-18 (22.2%) three-pointers.

Up Next

Stonehill (14-9, 10-5 NE10) is back in action in New Hampshire on Wednesday, when it visits Franklin Pierce University for another key NE10 matchup in Rindge at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home next Saturday, February 15, to host Assumption College at 3:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (14-8, 10-5 NE10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.