Syracuse, N.Y. (March 1) -- Despite a career-high 26 points from freshman Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.), the Saint Anselm men's basketball team fell to Le Moyne by a 75-70 final on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.

In an interesting opening period, the Dolphins built a quick 7-3 lead before a Saint Anselm 9-4 run gave the Hawks the lead back at 12-11 on a hook shot from Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) with 12:00 left. Le Moyne answered in a big way though and after eight straight points from Dan Cromwell (Victor, N.Y.), the hosts were in control at 31-23 with 3:06 left in the half. Saint Anselm got in the last run of the half, capped by a three-pointer at the buzzer by Baudinet, to end an 8-2 spurt and send the game into halftime tied at 33-33. Baudinet led the Hawks in the half with 12 points, knocking down 4-of-6 from behind the three-point arc. Cromwell led all scorers with a 14-point, seven-rebound effort in the opening period.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the lead changed hands eight times, with neither team leading by more than four points. Trailing 55-51 with 13:51 left, the Hawks embarked on a 9-3 run, capped by a layup by Lewis Thompson (Wall, N.J.) and held the 60-58 advantage with 9:39 remaining. That was the last lead the Hawks would see though as Le Moyne ended the game on a 17-10 run for the win. Saint Anselm got back to within six with 32.9 seconds left, but the Dolphins held on for the victory.

With the loss, the Hawks end the season at 13-14 overall, while Le Moyne advances to the conference quarterfinals to face No. 1 ranked Bentley on Monday night beginning at 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.