Bridgeport, Conn. (December 30) -- After leading by as many as 18 points in the second half, Saint Anselm held off Bridgeport by a 75-71 final on Wednesday night at the Bridgeport Holiday Classic. The win is the third straight for the Hawks, who now sit at 7-4 on the season.

Junior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) led the Hawks with 26 points, while senior Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) finished with 12 points, five assists and four steals. Senior Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) finished in double figures for the second straight game with 11 points. The Hawks hit seven three-pointers in the first half to build a convincing 47-32 lead at the halftime break.

The Hawks led by 18 points with 16:17 left in the game and still held an 11-point advantage with 11:16 left after a jumper from John Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.). Over the next four minutes though, that lead disappeared behind an 11-0 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from Steve Martin as Bridgeport tied the game at 60-60 with 7:28 remaining. Saint Anselm answered with a run that made it an eight-point game with 1:06 left, but back-to-back baskets from Martin got the Purple Knights back to within three at 72-69 with 44 seconds left. Three free throws in the final seconds by Baudinet sealed the win for the Hawks as two three-pointers from Dave Boykin were off the mark for Bridgeport in the final seconds.

Saint Anselm has now won four straight over Bridgeport dating back to the 2006 NCAA Tournament and the all-time series stands at 23-21 in favor of the Purple Knights.

The Hawks are back in action on Saturday afternoon as the team hosts Merrimack for a 3:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.