LISBON, Portugal – Saint Anselm College men’s basketball alumnus Tim Guers ’19, the program’s all-time leading scorer, has signed a professional contract to play for Sporting CP in Portugal. The team competes in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB), the country’s top men’s basketball league.
Guers has previously played professionally overseas in Australia, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, and Vietnam and also played for Million $ Worth of Game in last summer’s The Basketball Tournament (TBT). He is one of seven Saint Anselm men’s basketball alumni currently playing professionally overseas (Tyler Arbuckle – Georgia, Danny Evans – France, Owen McGlashan – Czech Republic, Chris Paul – Malta, Gustav Suhr-Jessen – Iceland, and Miles Tention – Germany).
“I think that even outside Portugal, everyone knows Sporting CP,” said Guers. “Having the opportunity to come to a big club like this, I obviously had to accept it.”
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Guers was a member of the Saint Anselm men’s basketball program for four years from 2015 to 2019. During his four seasons of play, the Langhorne, Pennsylvania native started in all 122 games he appeared in, which is the second-most in program history. He led the Hawks to 91 wins compared to just 32 losses during his career (.739 winning percentage) and finished as the program’s all-time scoring leader with 2,327 career points. Over that time, Guers led Saint Anselm to a Northeast-10 Conference Championship in 2016-17 as well as four straight trips to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball tournament.
In his senior season in 2018-19, he helped the Hawks win the NCAA Division II East Region for just the second time ever. Guers then led his team to a win over #5 Nova Southeastern at the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind. before they ultimately fell to #1 Northwest Missouri State, the eventual National Champion, in the National Semifinals.
Across his four seasons, Guers was a two-time NE10 Player of the Year in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2015-16, and a four-time NE10 All-Conference selection, including three times as a member of the First Team. The two-year team captain was also a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-American as well as a three-time selection to both the NABC and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-East Region First Teams. Additionally, Guers was chosen as the Saint Anselm male student-athlete of the year as a sophomore, junior, and senior.
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2015-16
As a freshman in 2015-16, Guers averaged 11.4 points per game across 31 starts. He contributed 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while playing 31.9 minutes per contest, the third-most on the team. The three-time NE10 Rookie of the Week shot 47.1 percent from the floor including 39.5 percent from three-point range. He scored in double figures in 19 of his 31 games and set a season-high with 22 points against Saint Rose during the NE10 Quarterfinals on February 28th.
Guers and Saint Anselm were defeated in the NE10 Semifinals by Southern New Hampshire, but the team earned a berth to the 2016 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship. While there, the Hawks picked up wins in the first two rounds before falling to Stonehill in overtime of the East Region title game. At the conclusion of the season, Guers was named the NE10 Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the conference’s All-Rookie Team. He also was recognized on the Division II Bulletin All-Freshman Team after his standout first season on the Hilltop.
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2016-17
Guers showed massive improvement as a sophomore in 2016-17, increasing his scoring by over 10 points per game. Across 29 starts, he averaged 21.7 points per game, which was third-most in the NE10. He also increased his rebounding to 7.0 rebounds per game and enhanced his playmaking to 4.0 assists per contest. Guers made nearly 100 more field goals (214) and 22 more threes (67) than the previous season while improving to 81.8 percent shooting at the free throw line. Additionally, the 6’3″ guard got it done on the defensive end with a little better than one steal per game to go along with a single season career-high of 18 blocks.
He scored in double figures in all but two games, recorded 17 games with 20 or more points, and scored at least 30 points seven times. He also posted eight double-doubles and recorded his first career triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high 10 assists, three blocks, and three steals in a 95-87 win over Southern New Hampshire on February 21st. Midway through his sophomore season, Guers scored 32 or more points in four straight games from January 12th to January 21st, becoming the first player in program history with four straight games of at least 30 points. He followed that up with four consecutive outings with at least 26 points. Over that eight-game span, he scored 247 points for an average of 30.9 points per game. He later pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds in a win over Assumption on February 7th. On February 15th at Stonehill, Guers set a season-high with 37 points while shooting 10-16 from the field, 4-8 from three-point range, and 13-16 from the free throw line.
Guers led the Hawks back to the NE10 postseason, where they defeated Southern New Hampshire again in the title game for their eighth conference championship in program history. Saint Anselm qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, but they were defeated in the opening round by St. Thomas Aquinas. At season’s end, Guers was named to the NE10 All-Conference First Team and both the D2CCA and NABC All-East Region First Teams.
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2017-18
As a junior in 2017-18, Guers took his dominance to another level. In 37.9 minutes per game across 31 starts, Guers led the team with 21.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game after being named a team captain for the first time. The Division II Bulletin Preseason All-American ranked fourth in the NE10 in scoring and rebounding, fifth in assists, and was tied for sixth in the league in steals per game. He led the conference with 666 total points and 1,176 minutes played on the season while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from long distance, and 82.3 percent at the foul line. He ranked second in the conference with 232 made field goals and 144 made free throws as well. His 37.9 minutes played per game was the seventh-most in NCAA Division II and, at the time, set a team single-season record in that statistic.
He once again scored in double figures in all but two games on the season and recorded 16 games with at least 20 points and six games with over 30 points. In the team’s season-opener against Concordia on November 11th, Guers surpassed the 1,000 point total for his career after scoring 26 points. On January 6th at Adelphi, Guers dropped a career-high 41 points and made 14 of his 22 shot attempts while going 12 for 16 at the free throw line in a 97-92 win. During the season, he totaled eight double-doubles, grabbed at least five rebounds in 27 games, dished out at least five assists in 19 contests, and was named the NE10 Player of the Week four times.
Guers helped his team reach the NE10 title game for the second straight season, but the Hawks ultimately fell to Le Moyne, 69-63. Saint Anselm qualified for its sixth straight NCAA postseason, but they fell in the opening round for the second straight year to Saint Rose. At the end of the season, Guers was honored with the NE10 Player of the Year award, becoming just the sixth student-athlete in program history to earn the achievement. Additionally, Guers earned a spot on the NE10 All-Conference First Team, the D2CCA and NABC All-East Region First Teams, and received First Team All-America honors from the NABC and the Division II Bulletin.
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2018-19
The accolades continued to roll in for Guers prior to his senior season in 2018-19. He was named a Preseason First Team All-American by Street & Smith’s Magazine and was listed on both the Division II Bulletin “Super 16” Preseason roster and the Bevo Francis Award Watch List (Top Nine). Guers was named a team captain for the second straight season and had a year for the history books.
He set new single season career-highs with 678 total points (second-most in a single season in program history), 21.9 points per game, 232 total rebounds, and 7.5 rebounds per game, while matching his career-bests with 170 total assists and 5.5 assists per game. He also slightly increased his playing time, logging 1,178 minutes and 38.0 minutes per contest. He led the team in total minutes, minutes per game, total points, points per game, total rebounds, rebounds per game, total assists, assists per game, and field goals made (232). He was also second on the squad with 30 steals and 74 made three-pointers. He led the NE10 in total scoring, total minutes, and field goals made and ranked second in points per game, was fifth in assists per game, sixth in rebounds per game, and sixth in free throw percentage. Guers also set career-highs in all shooting categories, making 47.8 percent from the field, 43.5 percent from three-point range, and 85.9 percent from the free throw line.
He scored in double figures in every game of the season with his lowest total being 13 points. He scored 20 or more points in 22 games and had 30 or more points in five games. He registered nine double-doubles, grabbed at least seven rebounds in 21 games, dished out at least five assists in 20 matchups, and made multiple threes in 21 contests. He set a career-high with 11 assists in a win over American International on January 19th.
Guers and the Hawks were NE10 Regular Season Champions after finishing with an 18-3 record in conference play. They were shockingly upset by Southern Connecticut State in the Quarterfinals, but bounced back in a major way. Saint Anselm earned hosting rights for the East Region bracket in the 2019 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship and rattled off three straight wins to claim the program’s second-ever East Region title. The Hawks took down the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas by 25 points in the East Region Final to advance to Evansville, Ind. for the Elite Eight, and Guers was named the Most Outstanding Player of the East Region Championship.
During their Elite Eight matchup against #5 Nova Southeastern, Guers equalled his season-high of 31 points and knocked down six three-pointers to help his team earn a 91-81 win to reach the Final Four. The Hawks were then eliminated by #1 Northwest Missouri State, who went on to win the National Championship. Guers was subsequently named to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight All-Tournament Team after averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 4.5 threes per game during those two contests.
Guers was named the NE10 Player of the Year and received a spot on the All-Conference First Team for the second straight year. He was also named an All-American by the NABC, a First Team All-American by the Basketball Times, a Second Team All-American by the Division II Bulletin, and a Third Team All-American by the D2CCA in addition to receiving D2CCA and NABC All-East Region First Team accolades.
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Career
Guers departed the Hilltop as the all-time leading scorer of the Saint Anselm men’s basketball program with 2,327 career points. He is one of just three players to have surpassed the 2,000 points threshold and finished his career with 19.1 points per game, the second-most of any student-athlete in team history. Guers also holds the program records with 4,400 career minutes played and 36.0 minutes played per game across four seasons.
Additionally, he still ranks first in program annals in both career field goals made (799) and career field goals attempted (1,727). He is also third in career free throws made (485), seventh in career free throws attempted (589), career free throw percentage (.823 percent), and career assists (521), eighth in career assists per game (4.3), eighth in career rebounds (808), and 10th in career three-pointers made (244). He also holds the second- and third-most points scored in a single season (678 in 2018-19 and 666 in 2017-18) and ranks in the top 10 three different times for single season scoring average.
His career averages during his four seasons were 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 46.3 percent shooting from the field, 38.8 percent shooting from three-point range, and 82.3 percent shooting at the free throw line. Out of his 122 career games played, Guers scored in double figures in 106 games. He finished his career scoring in double figures in his final 32 games. He graduated from Saint Anselm with a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Sciences in 2019.