By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

St. A’s Jim Holsworth, one of the Hawks’ 1,000-point scorers, drives down the lane past Southern’s Sam Carey for two of his game-high 22 points. The Hawks posted a 68-65 win over the Penmen, their first road victory at SNHU Fieldhouse in four years. (Marc Thaler Photo)

Countering several spirited Southern New Hampshire punches, the men of St. Anselm hoops snapped two losing streaks with one critical win.

Visiting SNHU Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 21, Keith Dickson’s club rebounded from back-to-back conference losses to Stonehill and Bentley, posting a 68-65 victory against the Penmen.

In sweeping the regular-season series, Anselm – 83-75 victors over Southern on Jan. 5 – also answered another tough challenge: Defeating Stan Spirou’s squad on its home court for the first time in four years.

“Anytime you want to beat them in here, you better bring your hard hat,” Dickson said of the Penmen. “This was a very big game for them, too. I’m sure they didn’t want to be swept.”

Beyond bragging rights, the contest also held additional importance for both teams; a two-game swing in the Northeast-10 standings was at stake.

Anselm entered action on Jan. 21 with a 7-5 conference mark, one game behind SNHU. Dropping the decision would’ve placed the Hawks in a twogame hole behind the Penmen as the regular-season schedule approaches its final month.

Although the venue switched to Southern’s turf, the St. A-SNHU rematch mirrored the previous meeting in three key areas – all favoring the Hawks.

First, Southern couldn’t contain Anselm sharpshooter Matt Cahill.

Scoring 24 in the first matchup, Cahill managed another 20- point effort, netting 21. Cahill was 7-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-8 shooting from behind the arc.

Second, similar to the first go-around, Anselm’s offense benefitted from a scoring threat named Jim.

In the first meeting, Southern had no answer for Jim Moore, who poured in 27 points. This time, Jim Holsworth mystified the host Penmen, scoring 22 on quick cuts to the hoop and longrange jumpers.

Holsworth’s hot hand in the second half was instrumental in the Hawks’ ability to erase a 35-30 halftime deficit.

Third, Dickson’s club connected for a pair of late-game 3-pointers, turning a 60-59 lead into a seven-point cushion with 2 minutes, 35-seconds remaining in regulation.

Cahill was the culprit in Game 1, burying two huge treys. Jeff Dickson did the damage in Game 2.

"In the end, we.re trying to complete our team, which has to be more than Matt Cahill,&#quot; Anselm.s coach said. "We got really good play from (Darlington) Okerulu, Holsworth and Jeff Dickson, which we.re gonna need.&#quot;

Clearly energized by the capacity crowd, Southern had several opportunities to earn a split in the season series. But according to Spirou, the Penmen were hurt by poor "basketball I.Q.&#quot;

Specifically, Southern.s coach pointed to his team.s questionable shot selection . knowing when to drive toward the basket versus pulling up for the jumper.

Sam Carey and Miguel Gonzalez paced Southern with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Likewise, P.J. Young was immense, pulling down 16 rebounds to go along with 14 points. However, the Penmen were haunted by the inability to connect on several close-range shots throughout the game.

"We cannot miss the opportunities we had in the paint,&#quot; Spirou said. "We missed a ton of layups. We.ve gotta finish the basketball better. I think we finished a third of our inside plays.

"We have to work so hard to score that it really drains the team and drains us individually,&#quot; Spirou added. "And it.s hard when we don.t go deep on the bench to give the kids any amount of rest. It shows sometimes with our basketball decisions.&#quot;