Worcester, Mass. (November 23) -- In the home opener on Saturday afternoon at Laska Gym, the Assumption College men's basketball team fell by a 105-86 final to visiting Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference action.

Saint Anselm jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead behind a pair of three-pointers and held a 12-7 lead three minutes in. The Assumption offense came alive though and after a tip-in from freshman Kamali Bey (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy), the Hounds held their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 15:47 left in the first. The teams traded the lead back and forth over the next five minutes before an 11-0 run from Saint Anselm gave the Hawks a double-digit lead at 36-26 with 8:10 remaining in the half.

Assumption battled back though and regained the lead with 1:03 left on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Marcus Murray (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy). Saint Anselm eventually took a 51-50 lead into the halftime break as junior Chris Santo scored on a putback as time expired in the period.

In the second half, the Hounds never led but trailed by just a four-point margin at 77-73 with 9:28 left following a pair of free throws from junior Jimmy Zenevitch (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic). Saint Anselm mustered a 13-2 run over the next three and a half minutes though to seize control at 90-75 with 5:41 left. The Hawks led by as many as 20 with 1:32 left before coming away with the 19-point final.

Murray led the Hounds with a career-high 22 points, along with 18 points from Zenevitch and a career-high 13 points from freshman Jack Sullivan (Stony Point, N.Y./Albertus Magnus).

Mike McCahey led five Hawks in double figures with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double. Santo also posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Overall, Assumption outrebounded the Hawks by a 39-33 margin and held the edge in bench points by a 35-18 advantage. The Hounds also benefited in second-chance points, outscoring Saint Anselm 23-8 in that area.

With the loss, Assumption falls to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in Northeast-10 play, while Saint Anselm improves to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, November 26 as the Hounds travel to Colchester, Vt. to take on Saint Michael's College beginning at 7:30 p.m.

For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.