Manchester, N.H. (November 15) - Saint Anselm
and Franklin Pierce came away as winners on day one of the 2008
Country Inn & Suites Tip-Off Tournament at Stoutenburgh Gym on
Saturday afternoon in men's basketball action. The Ravens routed
Nyack by a 79-60 final, while the Hawks outpaced Dowling by an
84-72 margin in the second game.
The Hawks came out on fire in the opening six minutes as the
hosts built the lead to 20-8 following a three-pointer from
sophomore standout Thomas Baudinet (Watertown,
Conn.). Sophomore transfer Pat Luptowski (Keene,
N.H.) was also outstanding in that run, knocking down a
trio of three-pointers. Dowling wasn't going quietly though as the
Golden Lions mounted a run of their own to pulled within 30-24 with
5:22 left on a layup by David Seagers (Bronx,
N.Y.). The Hawks pushed the lead back to 10 before heading
into the break with a 36-29 lead. Luptowski led all scorers with 12
first-half points, while Seagers led Dowling with nine first-half
points.
In the second half, the lead got down to four points at 37-33
after a layup by Seagers before a 13-7 Hawk run pushed the lead
back to double digits at 50-40 with 14:33 left. Saint Anselm would
then lead by as many as 17 points at 80-63 with 2:08 remaining
after a Luptowski trifecta before coming away with the 84-72 win.
Baudinet scored a career-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting,
including 5-for-6 from three-point land. Luptowski also hit five
three-pointers in his debut for 15 points and five assists.
John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) was outstanding
with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field.
John Merchant (Monticello, N.Y.) was 7-for-13
from the field for 23 points, while Seagers finished with 21 points
on 9-for-18 shooting.
Franklin Pierce 79, Nyack 60
In the opening half of game one, the two teams went back and forth
over the opening seven minutes before the Ravens put together a
22-7 run to blow the game open at 37-21 with 3:57 left in the
opening half. Rimas Viranuaskas (Kaunas,
Lithuania) and Jeff Manchester (Gorham,
Maine) led the Ravens with 10 points each in the half,
while Viranauskas also put up eight rebounds in the half as
Franklin Pierce took a 43-29 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the lead went to as high as 23 points at
66-43 with 7:57 left following a jumper from Craig Shepherd
(Grantham, N.H.). From that point, Nyack never got closer
than 18 as the Ravens held on for the season-opening win.
Viranauskas led all scorers with a 23-point, 17-rebound, six-assist
effort in 31 minutes of play. Four Ravens finished in double
figures with 13 points from Manchester and 11 each from
Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.) and Mike
Barrow (Mattapan, Mass.). The Ravens shot 56 percent from
the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point land. Nyack was led
by 15 points from Stedford McLeod (Bronx, N.Y.)
and 10 points from Jose Lopez (Patchogue, N.Y.).
The teams return to action on Sunday afternoon as Franklin
Pierce takes on Dowling at 1:30 p.m. and the Hawks host Nyack
beginning at 3:30 p.m.
