Box Score ALBANY, N.Y. – Freshman guard
Tim Massado (Wilmington, Del.) erupted for 25 points in 23 minutes to lead the Felician College men's basketball team to an 82-79 non-conference victory over Saint Anselm College on Sunday afternoon at Nolan Gymnasium. The contest tipped off the second and final day of the Northeast-10 Challenge, hosted by the College of Saint Rose.
Saint Anselm (1-2) is ranked No. 16 in the NCAA Division II national preseason coaches' poll.
Playing just 18 hours after suffering a 33-point loss to the host Golden Knights, Felician (2-3) never trailed the Hawks on Sunday. The Golden Falcons led, 21-17, after 9 ½ minutes of play before Massado scored 10 consecutive points as part of a 12-0 run. Felician led by as many as 17 points before settling for a 43-32 halftime advantage.
The Golden Falcons survived several Saint Anselm charges in period two. The Hawks scored nine consecutive points to pull within 49-43 at the 16:59 mark. But with 12:36 to play, Felician was back up by 14. Saint Anselm countered with an 11-2 spurt, capped by a three-point play by senior guard Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.), for a 63-60 deficit.
After Felician went back ahead by nine, Saint Anselm came within 73-71 with 3:02 left in regulation. Massado nailed a three-point field goal at 1:40 for an 80-73 bulge. Hawk sophomore forward Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y. scored the next five points, and after another stop, Mallios drew a foul. With a chance to tie the game, Mallios missed the first of two free throws. He made the second, but the Hawks were forced to foul.
Massado went to the line at 0:07 and made both attempts to put Felician ahead, 82-79. Saint Anselm was not able to get a shot off in the time that remained, as a well-defended three from McCahey was released after the horn sounded.
Massado went 9 for 12 from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, and added five rebounds. Sophomore Jamal Reid (Newark, N.J.) amassed 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Golden Falcons, and Anthony Obery (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) and J.R. Pringley (Elizabeth, N.J./Linden) netted 13 points apiece.
McCahey topped four Hawk double-figure scorers with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Golden Falcons out-shot Saint Anselm, 57-41 percent, from the floor and canned 9 of 16 three-pointers (56 percent). Felician survived being outscored, 19-5, at the foul line.
Felician defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since a road win over No. 19 Johnson C. Smith University on Nov. 21, 2009.
