New Haven, Conn. (December 6) -- Despite shooting just 28.6 percent from the field for the game, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team won its fourth straight game with a 48-46 win over Southern Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.

In the early going, neither team could score as the Hawks finally got on the board with 11:57 left in the first half on a basket by John Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.). With the game just 5-2 with 8:48 left in the period, the Hawks went on a run to make it 19-13 with 5:03 left after a layup from Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.). After a layup from Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) made it 24-16 Hawks with 2:30 left in the half, the Owls finished on a 7-3 run to make it 27-23 at the halftime break.

The second half saw the Hawks run out to a 40-31 lead with 11:17 remaining before Southern answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Chris Harris three-pointer, to make it 40-38 with 9:10 left in the game. The hosts battled all the way back to tied the game at 44-44 and even took the lead with 2:06 left on a hoop from Trevor Harris. Four free throws, including the game winners by Vetrano with 1:07 left, gave the Hawks their seventh win of the season. Lance Long's shot with two seconds left fell short to potentially tie the game for the Owls.

Sophomore John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) led the Hawks with 11 points and nine rebounds, while sophomores Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) and Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) each had 10 points. John Mazzarella had 14 points for the Owls, along with 13 by Harris.

The first-place Hawks are now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Northeast-10. The team is back in action on December 11th as the Hawks host Franklin Pierce for a 7:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.