Manchester, N.H. – Junior forward Kobi Nwandu (York, Pa./Northeastern York/East Stroudsburg) led four Dolphins in double-figures as the Le Moyne College men's basketball team upset #14/18 Saint Anselm College, 69-65, in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

Nwandu tallied 12 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Dolphins offensively, while posting three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Redshirt junior guard Malik Garner (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow/Sunrise Christian Academy/Saginaw Valley State) turned in nine of his 15 points in the first half, while adding two assists and two steals. Senior forward C.J. Asuncion-Byrd (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich/St. Thomas More/Gannon) recorded 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Ryan Roland (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Mercyhurst) had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Saint Anselm, which had its 18-game home win streak snapped (fourth-longest in Division II) and was 28-1 at home since falling to the Dolphins on January 10, 2017, was led by All-American Tim Guers, who scored 22 points, including 13 in the first half, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Chris Paul posted 11 points, while Gustav Suhr-Jessen tallied 10 points and six rebounds.

After the teams traded baskets over the opening five minutes of the game, the Dolphins scored 11 straight points to take a 19-10 lead with 10:29 remaining in the first half. Asuncion-Byrd started the run with a lay-up, Roland followed with a three-pointer, Nwandu scored four straight and then Garner had a lay-up to force a Saint Anselm timeout.

Following 5-0 spurts by each team over the next two minutes, the Hawks closed out the half with 17 of the last 26 points over the final 8:26 to pull within 33-32 at halftime. Guers led the charge with eight of the points, while Alonzo Jackson had four.

After the teams exchanged the lead three times in the opening minutes of the second half, the Hawks used a 6-2 spurt to take their largest lead of the game, 47-42, with 13:15 to play. Guers scored the first point and Paul followed with five points.

Garner followed with five points in 33 seconds to even the score at 47 with 12:25 to go and then Guers and junior forward Tom Brown (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) traded baskets to deliver the game's eighth tie of the game.

After Miles Tention hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 10:50 left for a 52-49 Saint Anselm lead, the Dolphins scored nine of the next 11 points to regain a four-point lead. Roland made a jump shot and then Nwandu made a lay-up, two free throws and a three-pointer on three consecutive possessions for a 58-54 lead with 8:31 to play.

Suhr-Jessen and Cody Ball made lay-ups to even the score at 58 with 5:47 remaining, but Brown answered with a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Dolphins the lead for good.

Nwandu pushed the advantage to five on a pair of occasions, the second of which came on two free throws with 2:13 left, but Guers made two foul shots with 2:01 to go and Suhr-Jessen followed with two with 13 ticks left to get the Hawks within one.

Garner extended the lead to two a second later, but missed his next free-throw attempt and the Hawks corralled the rebound and called timeout with eight seconds left. Paul drove to the basket with four seconds left, but Brown blocked his shot and Roland grabbed the rebound. He then sank a pair of foul shots with 1.6 seconds left to seal the victory.
 
Le Moyne (10-7, 7-5 NE10), which has won three straight over the Hawks, returns to the hardwood on Wednesday at home against Saint Michael's College at 5:30 p.m.