Manchester, N.H. (December 3) -- Overcoming an
early double-digit deficit, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team
extended its winning streak to three straight with an 87-72 win
over UMass Lowell on Wednesday night at Stoutenburgh Gym.
In the opening 2:59, the Hawks fell behind by a 13-0 margin
before finally getting on the board on a layup by John
Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) at the 16:53 mark. Saint
Anselm chipped away at the lead, but Lowell still held a 27-17
advantage with 6:39 remaining in the opening half. From that point
though, the Hawk embarked on a 12-0 run over the next 1:53 that was
capped by a three-pointer from Pat Luptowski (Keene,
N.H.) for a 29-27 lead. Saint Anselm pushed the lead to
three at 35-32 before the River Hawks closed on a 6-2 spurt for the
38-37 edge at the break. Luptowski and Hakeem Williams
(Spring Valley, N.Y.) each had nine points at the break to
lead the Hawks. Victor Colon and Craig
Heatherley were in double figures for Lowell with 13 and
10 points each, respectively.
In the second half, the teams traded baskets before a Luptowski
three gave the Hawks the lead again at 51-49. After Lowell climbed
back to within one at 54-53, eight straight points by Saint Anselm
freshman guard Oliver Hunter (Bedford, N.H.) gave
the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 59-54 with 10:11
remaining on the clock. After the Hawks extended the lead to 61-54,
two straight long balls by Colon pulled the visitors back to within
one at 61-60. Tello answered back though with a putback for a
three-point lead again at 63-60 and Luptowski added another three
to put the Hawks back in control with a six-point advantage.
The lead went all the way to nine points with 5:50 remaining
after Saint Anselm sophomore John Mariano (Naugatuck,
Conn.) stole a Lowell pass and went in for the easy layup
and a 69-60 lead. The lead went to double digits for the hosts for
the first time with 2:36 remaining as Williams knocked down a free
throw for the 78-68 advantage. UMass Lowell never got any closer as
the Hawks came away with their sixth victory of the season.
Luptowski paced five Hawks in double figures with a career-high
21 points as he knocked seven three-pointers. Tello had a 16-point,
12-rebound double-double and Hunter added a career-high 16 points.
Colon was one of four River Hawks in double figures as he led all
scorers with 25 points, including seven three-pointers.
Earlier in the night, Merrimack dropped a 79-75 final at
Stonehill and with the loss, the Hawks land in first place in the
Northeast-10 with a 4-1 league mark.
With the win, Saint Anselm is now 6-1 overall and 4-1 in
Northeast-10 play, while the River Hawks fall to 4-3 overall and
2-3 in league play. Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday
afternoon as the Hawks travel to Southern Connecticut for a 3:30
p.m. start.
