Caldwell, N.J. (November 28) -- The Saint Anselm men's basketball team fell to Bloomfield College by a 78-74 final on Wednesday evening in non-conference play. The game was the first non-conference game of the season for the Hawks.

Bloomfield got off to a quick start and held as much as an 11-point lead at 19-8 with 10:14 left in the opening period. With 7:32 left in the half, Bloomfield still held a comfortable lead at 23-15 before Saint Anselm took off on a 14-3 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) that gave the Hawks the lead for the second time at 29-26 with 3:03 left before halftime. The Deacons answered back though with an 11-2 run that was punctuated by a Charles Smith three-pointer with four seconds left on the clock to give Bloomfield a 37-31 halftime advantage.

In the second half, it was the Hawks who got out to the quick start and after just over five minutes, the visitors tied the game at 41-41 following a three-pointer from freshman John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.). Saint Anselm continued to pour it on and with a 16-6 run over the next 4:39, the Hawks held their biggest lead of the night at 57-47 with 10:06 left. After Bloomfield cut the lead to 57-50 with a three from Gage Daye, the Deacons put together a 13-4 run of their own to regain the lead at 63-61 with 6:01 remaining. Saint Anselm briefly regained the lead at 65-63 following a layup by senior forward Lewis Thompson (Wall, N.J.), but the Deacons knocked down 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the final minute of play to hold off the Hawks.

Saint Anselm was led by Tello, who finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, along with eight rebounds. Chris Vetrano followed with 17 points, along with five assists and six steals in 40 minutes of play. Joining the pair in double figures was sophomore Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J.) with 13 points and six rebounds. Bloomfield had three players in double figures and two with double-doubles as Smith had 17 points and 13 boards and Omari Knox finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 2-2 overall, while Bloomfield improves to 3-2 on the season. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday afternoon as the team hosts Le Moyne for a 3:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.