Manchester, N.H. – All-Region forward Chris Paul scored 29 points to lead Saint Anselm College to an 81-67 victory over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

"Although we as a team are not satisfied with the outcome of the game, I thought we showed some signs of improvement and some growth and maturity throughout the game," said head coach Nate Champion '14. "We are still a work in progress, but we are starting to see some of the hard work pay off. We have to continue to work and grow as a team to put ourselves in a position to accomplish our goals."

The Dolphins were led offensively by redshirt freshman guard Christian Davis (Denver, Colo./Mullen/New Hampton School), who posted 17 points, including 12 in the second half. Junior forward Xavier Wilson (Spring Valley, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac/The Hotchkiss School/Central Connecticut State) tallied 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds in a season-high 29 minutes off the bench.

Paul, who is fourth in the NE10 in scoring at 20.0 per game, tallied 18 of his points in the second half on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from the foul line. Tyler Arbuckle and Owen McGlashan recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively, while each had four rebounds. Gustav Suhr-Jessen just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The teams went back and forth to open the game before the Dolphins scored four straight points for a 10-7 lead at the 14:33 mark.

The Hawks, who won the last NCAA East Regional to be held with a full field (2019), answered with eight straight points and 11 of the next 13 to open up a six-point advantage. Paul had four of the points as five different players scored in the span.

After the Dolphins closed within 20-17 on a dunk by redshirt freshman forward Isaiah Elmore (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Catholic) with 9:20 left in the half, the Hawks countered with a 12-4 run to open up their largest lead of the half. Matt Becker scored eight of the 12 points in the stretch.

Le Moyne answered with eight consecutive points over two minutes to cut its deficit to three with just over one minute left in the half. Graduate student forward Armon Nasseri (Youngstown, Ohio/Spire Institute/Mercyhurst/Roberts Wesleyan) started the streak with a lay-up, Davis hit a jumper and then Wilson made a lay-up and two foul shots.

The Hawks scored four of the last six points of the half to take a 36-31 lead into the intermission.

Following four points by the Dolphins to start the second half to get within 36-35, the Hawks scored seven points in a row, including five by Paul, for an eight-point edge with 16:08 to play.

After Becker put the Hawks up 49-40 with 13:50 left with a free throw, the Dolphins scored eight in a row in 75 seconds to cut their deficit to a point. Redshirt freshman guard Kevin Constant (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic/Tilton School) recorded a conventional three-point play and then converted two more foul shots and then third-year sophomore guard Jeremiah Washington (Chicago, Ill./Bogan/Ferris State) drained a three-pointer to force a Saint Anselm timeout with 12:23 to go.

The teams then traded baskets as Saint Anselm's lead was one or three over the next two minutes.

Following a free throw by Paul with 10:10 left to make it 56-54, Constant made a lay-up to knot the score 9:52 left for the first time since it was 7-7 at the 15:10 mark of the first half.

The game was then tied at 58, 60 and 63 over the next 2:34.

The Dolphins had three possessions to take the lead over the next two minutes, but turned it over twice and then missed a lay-up, while Saint Anselm had two missed shots and two turnovers in the span.

Arbuckle snapped his team's scoring drought of 2:37 with a jumper with 5:06 left to ignite a 14-0 run to put the game away. Paul followed with eight points on two baskets and four free throws and Arbuckle had the other four points with a jumper and two foul shots.

During the run by the Hawks, the Dolphins missed four shots and committed four turnovers. Wilson ended the run by making two foul shots with 1:05 left, snapping a drought of 6:13.

Suhr-Jessen scored four points around a lay-up by Elmore, Le Moyne's first basket in 6:46, to close out the game's scoring.

Le Moyne (8-7, 4-4 NE10), which had its four-game win streak over Saint Anselm snapped and fell to the Hawks in Manchester for the first time since March 1, 2015, returns to the hardwood on Wednesday at Bentley University at 7:30 p.m.