Embrace the Championship: Saint Anselm Routs STAC, Advances to NCAA Elite Eight After Regional Title

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Saint Anselm has won its second NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Region Championship, downing the Spartans from Saint Thomas Aquinas College by a 74-49 score on Tuesday in a sold out Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

Saint Anselm (25-5), the top seed in the East Region, recorded its largest-ever NCAA postseason margin of victory with the result and advances to its first NCAA Division II Elite Eight since the 1999-00 season. Saint Anselm has now claimed 2019 regional titles in both men's and women's basketball, becoming the first East Region institution to accomplish that feat in one season.

In an announcement late Tuesday evening, it was revealed that the Hawks are seeded fifth in the upcoming Elite Eight and will battle fourth-seeded Nova Southeastern, the South Region champions, at high noon on Wednesday, Mar. 27. Additional information about the match-up will be revealed in the coming days.

The Hawks, currently ranked 20th in NCAA Division II by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, led Saint Thomas Aquinas (25-7), the champion of the 2017 regionals, by as many as 30 points near the midpoint of the second half. Saint Anselm was hosting its first-ever East Regional championship within the friendly confines of its home gym and improves to 82-17 since 2012-13 when playing on the Hilltop.