Rindge, N.H. (February 23) -- Led by an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double from emerging sophomore forward Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario), the Saint Anselm men's basketball team defeated Franklin Pierce by a 76-72 final on Saturday afternoon at the FPU Fieldhouse. The win ends postseason hopes for the Ravens, who were eliminated from NE-10 Tournament contention.

After a first half that featured nine ties and no lead of more than four points for either team, the Hawks began the second half on a 14-8 run and had a 45-40 lead with 14:36 after a three-pointer from freshman guard Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.). Over the next 4:01 though, the Ravens embarked on a 14-4 run of their own and had their biggest lead of the game at 54-49 after a three-point play from Terrell Ray. The game of runs continued as the Hawks regained the lead just 1:29 later on a jumper from Zeko at 56-54 with 9:06 left. That would prove to be the decisive turn in the game as the lead went to as many as 10 points at 66-56 after a pair of free throws by Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass.). The Ravens cut the lead down to four with 51 seconds left after a layup by Tim Munch and again with a three-pointer at the buzzer for the 76-72 final.

Zeko paced four Hawks in double figures on the afternoon. He was joined by Vetrano with 16 points and five assists, Baudinet with 15 points and John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) with 14 points. Five Ravens finished in double figures, led by a 17-point effort from Kinard Dozier.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 12-13 overall and 10-11 in Northeast-10 play, while the Ravens drop to 9-17 overall and 5-16 in league play. Saint Anselm wraps up the regular season on Tuesday night, hosting Stonehill for a 7:30 p.m. start on Senior Night.