Bridgeport, Conn. (December 19) - On day two of
the ECAC Holiday Classic, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team
withstood a late run by Concordia to defeat the Clippers by a 78-66
final at the Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium at the University of
Bridgeport.
After Concordia took a 3-0 lead, the Hawks, behind a pair of
three-pointers by Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn,
N.Y.), put together a 13-0 run over the next 2:38 to seize
the 13-3 lead. Concordia pulled back to within three at 13-10
before the Hawks poured it on and pushed the lead to double digits
at 25-15 with 8:49 left in the half. Concordia clawed back and
after a pair of free throws from Lamont Wilson (Manhattan,
N.Y.), the lead was down to 31-25 with 5:16 left. Saint
Anselm continued to shoot the ball extremely well in the final
minutes of the period though and closed the half on a 14-1 run to
head into the break up 47-29. The Hawks shot 54.8 percent for the
half, while the 47 points marked the highest-scoring first half for
the Hawks this season. Mitchell led all first-half scorers with 17
points, knocking down 6-of-7 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from
behind the three-point arc.
In the second half, the Hawks blew the game open early and with
8:40 left, held its biggest lead of the game at 68-46 following a
layup by Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario).
From that point though, the Clippers went on a 20-6 run, including
a 15-0 stretch, to close to within 72-66 with 1:02 remaining. A
three-pointer from Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.)
put the Hawks back up by nine though at 75-66 and Saint Anselm hung
on for its second straight victory with the 78-66 final.
Mitchell led three Hawks in double figures with 22 points, while
Zeko had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Richard
Fields (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Clippers with 17 points and
he was joined in double figures by Troy Young (Largo,
Md.) with 13 points.
With the win, the Hawks now sit at 5-4 overall on the season,
while Concordia drops to 4-5 overall. Saint Anselm is back in
action on Friday, December 28th when Mercy visits Stoutenburgh Gym
for a 7 p.m. start.
