Manchester, N.H. (December 30) -- Saint Anselm
pulled away in the second half for a 87-66 non-conference victory
over Holy Family University on Tuesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gym.
The win is the sixth straight for the Hawks and gets the team off
to its best start since the 2004-2005 season at 9-1.
The two teams traded baskets in the early going and the Tigers
held a 14-11 lead with 9:58 left in the opening half after a pair
of free throws from Ceazer Johnson (Monroe, La.).
Over the next 5:19 though, the Hawks took control with a 14-2
outburst that was capped off by a layup from Branimir Zeko
(Mississauga, Ontario) for a 25-16 lead. The Hawks led by
as many as 12 points in the period before taking a 35-24 lead into
the halftime break. Zeko led the Hawks with eight points and seven
rebounds in the period, while Johnson led the visitors with 14
points and eight boards.
In the second half, Saint Anselm used a 13-3 burst with seven
minutes remaining to push the lead up to as high as 27 points and
the Tigers never got closer than 20 the rest of the way.
Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) led the way with a
21-point effort as he knocked down seven three-pointers, all coming
in the second half. Thomas Baudinet (Watertown,
Conn.) nearly posted a double-double with 19 points and
nine rebounds, along with five assists. Zeko had his second
straight double-double with a 14-point, 13-rebound evening.
Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) nearly posted a
double-double as well with nine points and eight assists. As a
team, the Hawks hit 16 three-pointers on the evening and forced the
Tigers into 18 turnovers.
Johnson led Holy Family with a 24-point, 13-rebound
double-double in 38 minutes of play.
With the win, the Hawks are now 9-1 overall and remain 5-1 in
Northeast-10 play, while Holy Family drops its eighth straight game
to fall to 1-12 on the season. Saint Anselm is back in action on
January 6th as the team travels to crosstown rival Southern New
Hampshire for a 7:30 p.m. start at SNHU Fieldhouse. The game is the
start of a three-game road trip for Saint Anselm as the Hawks also
take on Stonehill and Bentley before returning home to face
Merrimack on January 14th.
