Bridgeport, Conn. (December 18) - At the ECAC/UB Holiday Classic on Tuesday night, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team defeated the University of Bridgeport by a 75-71 final at the Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium in Bridgeport, Conn.

In the first half it was Bridgeport that jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead behind five points from Cornell Littlejohn (Oakland, Calif.). The Hawks answered though and took their first lead of the game with 13:21 left on the first of four first-half three-pointers from senior Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass.). The Hawks pushed the lead to 23-18 with 9:39 left before Bridgeport went on a 10-0 run over the next 5:12 to seize a 28-23 advantage. A Chris Vetrano three and layups by Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) and Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied the game up at 30-30 with 2:37 left. The two teams traded baskets in the final minutes and the game headed into halftime tied at 32-32. Vetrano led the Hawks with 12 points in the first half as the Hawks shot 40.6 percent from the field in the opening period. Littlejohn led all scorers with 13 points for Bridgeport as the Purple Knights shot 48 percent in the half.

In the second half, the two teams traded the lead back and forth before Saint Anselm took a 52-47 lead with 11:16 remaining. From that point though it was Bridgeport that put together a substantial run with an 11-0 outburst, capped by a layup from T-Ron Christy (Stratford, Conn.), for a 58-52 lead with under eight minutes left. Three-pointers from John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) and Jeff Dickson (Bedford, N.H.) brought the Hawks back though to tie the game at 60-60 with 6:13 remaining. After the lead traded hands twice more, the Hawks took the lead for good on a three-point play by Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J.) with 1:06 remaining. Saint Anselm forced the Purple Knights into three turnovers in the final minutes and knocked down four free throws to seal the victory.

Four Purple Knights finished in double figures, led by 19 points from Chris Vetrano. Zeko was the team leader on the boards with eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Littlejohn led all scorers for UB with 22 points, as he was joined in double figures by Lex James (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 19 points.

With the win, the Hawks even their record at 4-4 overall, while Bridgeport has now lost two straight for the first time all season and drop to 3-4 overall. Saint Anselm is back in action on Wednesday night as the Hawks take on Concordia at 5 p.m. in day two of the ECAC/UB Holiday Classic.