Manchester, N.H. (November 19) -- Led by nine three-pointers, including four by sophomore Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.), the Saint Anselm men's basketball team rolled to an 89-74 victory over Pace University on Wednesday night in the team's Northeast-10 Conference opener. The meeting was the 19th all-time with Pace, with Saint Anselm now holding an 11-8 edge over the Setters.

In the first half, the Hawks built the lead to as many as 15 points on two occasions before taking a 44-32 lead into the locker room at halftime. Luptowski and Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) led the way on the scoreboard for Saint Anselm with nine points each as the Hawks knocked down five threes in the period. The Hawks also owned a 25-18 first-half advantage on the boards, led by five rebounds each from Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) and Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario).

The second half was much of the same in the early going after the Setters cut the lead into single digits five minutes into the period. A three-pointer from Luptowski put the lead back into double digits though and after a few back and forth possessions, the Hawks held a 58-45 lead with 13:51 remaining in the game. The Setters rallied though and after a free throw from Laurence McGhee (Linden, N.J.), the lead was cut to 66-59 with 6:49 left in the game. Pace pulled to within six before a Baudinet three and a three-point play from John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) pushed the lead back to eight at 76-68 with 4:04 left in the game. Vetrano converted a three-point play with 3:15 left as well and it was back to double digits at 79-69 for the Hawks. Pace got no closer than eight points down the stretch as the Hawks won their third straight game.

Baudinet led a balanced scoring attack with a 21-point effort in the win, while Vetrano posted a 15-point, 12-assist double-double. Five Setters finished the game in double figures in the loss, led by 14 points from Ryan Woods (Staten Island, N.Y.).

With the win, the Hawks remain perfect at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10, while Pace falls to 0-1 overall and in league play. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks travel to Assumption for a 3:30 p.m. start in Worcester, Mass.