Manchester, N.H. (February 9) -- Saint Anselm
held off a late Franklin Pierce charge in the final minutes to come
away with an 84-81 win over the Ravens on Saturday afternoon in
Northeast-10 men's basketball action.
After falling behind by a 19-9 margin in the opening minutes,
the Hawks went on a 13-2 run and took a 22-21 lead with 10:48 left
on a three-pointer from Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn,
N.Y.). After a jumper from Thomas Baudinet
(Watertown, Conn.) pushed the lead to as many as 11 points
with 4:54 left before the Hawks took a 47-38 lead into the halftime
break. Baudinet led the Hawks with 17 first-half points, while
Tim Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y.) led all scorers with 18
points for the Ravens.
With 15:59 left in the game, the Hawks held a seemingly
comfortable lead at 54-45. That comfort was shortlived though as
the visitors unloaded a 13-3 run and took a 58-57 advantage with
11:14 remaining after a three-pointer from Jeff Manchester
(Gorham, Maine). Another Manchester trifecta pushed the
lead to 61-57 before the Hawks regained the lead at 63-61 after a
pair of free throws from senior Chris Vetrano (Andover,
Mass.). The Ravens tied the game for times in the final
minutes, including for the last time at 76-76 with 1:27 remaining.
Baudinet gave the Hawks the lead for good again with 1:10 left on
the clock and Greg Vetano (Andover, Mass.) sealed
the win with four free throws in the final 27 seconds.
Chris Vetrano led the Hawks with 23 points, while Baudinet
finished with a career-best 22 points. Mitchell also finished in
double figures with 14 points, while Jeff Dickson (Bedford,
N.H.) posted a game-high 11 assists. Manchester led the
Ravens with a 23-point afternoon, while Munch ended with 22 points.
With the win, the Hawks improve to 10-11 overall and 8-9 in the
Northeast-10, while Franklin Pierce falls to 7-15 overall and 3-14
in the league. Saint Anselm is back in action on Monday night,
hosting UMass Lowell for a 7 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym. That
game was originally scheduled for early January, but was postponed
due to the presidential debates on the Saint Anselm campus.
