Manchester, N.H. (November 24) -- Junior co-captain Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) knocked down a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left to seal a 72-69 win over No. 5 Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference play on Tuesday night at Stoutenburgh Gym.

Saint Anselm got off to a quick start and took a 14-9 lead in the first eight minutes behind six early points from sophomore Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.). A Bentley 15-1 run though, capped by a three-pointer by Mike Quinn (Oakdale, Conn.), keyed a 24-15 lead for the visitors with 9:18 left in the opening half. The Falcons built the lead to double digits at 29-17 on a three from John Brandt (Pawtucket, R.I.) and maintained a cushion of at least 10 until 2:30 left in the half.

The Hawks cut the lead down to 36-28 on a three-point play by sophomore Oliver Hunter (Bedford, N.H.). Saint Anselm continued to cut into the lead and after five points from Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y.) and a Bentley offensive foul in the final minutes of the half, it was just 36-33 Bentley heading into the halftime break. Overall, the Hawks closed the half on an 8-0 run to cut into what was a double-digit lead for much of the period. Keough led the Hawks with 11 points in the half, while Brandt led all scorers with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Saint Anselm came out firing in the second half and after a three-pointer from Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) and a layup from Quinn Woodhouse (Gaylord, Mich.), the Hawks held a 38-36 lead, their first lead since the midway point of the first half. Over the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Hawks either held the lead or the game was tied until Bentley took a 54-52 with 9:59 left on a fastbreak layup by Jason Westrol (Brielle, N.J.). The Falcons made it a three-point lead before the Hawks tied the game after a free throw from John Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) and a putback on his own shot by Hunter. After the game was tied again at 57-57 with 7:15 left, Westrol gave the Falcons the lead back at 60-57 on a three-pointer with 6:48 on the clock.

The Hawks regained the lead though with 5:01 left on a three-point play by Baudinet and extended that lead to 65-62 on two Keough free throws. After Westrol made it a two-point game, Saint Anselm answered with a runner in the lane by Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) for the 70-66 advantage with 1:34 remaining.

Bentley and Westrol answered though as he knocked down to freebies with 46.6 seconds left and had a chance to tie the game yet again with 15.2 on the clock. After he made the first one for a 70-69 game, Westrol missed the second and after a scramble, a jump ball was called with Bentley possession. After a pair of timeouts, the Falcons inbounded the ball and with 5.1 seconds left, Quinn stepped on the end line for Bentley to give the ball back to Saint Anselm.

Baudinet knocked down a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining as the Hawks pulled out the 72-69 win over the Falcons.

Baudinet and Keough led the Hawks with 13 points each, joined in double figures by Vetrano with 12 and Williams with 10 points. Westrol led all scorers as he tied a career high with 28 points for the Falcons.

Saint Anselm is now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the league, while Bentley drops to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Hawks are back in action on Sunday afternoon as the team travels to Franklin Pierce for a 3:30 p.m. start in Rindge.