Lowell, Mass. (December 5) -- Saint Anselm closed the deficit down to four points in the final minutes of the second half before dropping an 88-77 final to UMass Lowell at Costello Gym on Saturday. The Hawks trailed by as many as 20 points before the furious rally.

The game was back and forth in the opening six minutes, with no one leading by more than four points. The River Hawks made a first-half statement though with eight three-pointers, including many from deep behind the arc, to push the lead to 20 points at 39-19 with 5:57 left in the period. Saint Anselm withstood the shooting barrage though and closed the gap to 10 at 46-36 at the halftime break. That late surge by the Hawks was helped by 16 free throws made in 19 attempts, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the line by junior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.). In the half, Baudinet had 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field. Kevin Carr and Kyle Caiola combined for seven three-pointers and 34 points to lead the River Hawks.

In the second half, the Hawks kept the game in single digits before Lowell made it a 10-point game yet again at 60-50 with 14:14 remaining. However, two straight Lowell turnovers and layups by Quinn Woodhouse (Gaylord, Mich.) and Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) got the lead down to five points with 12:31 on the clock.

The River Hawks surged back ahead though and after leading by 14, held a 78-68 lead with 3:36 on the clock. A Baudinet three cut the lead to seven, followed by a pair of free throws by Vetrano to get to 78-73 with 1:38 left. Lowell's Ali Kanaan hit two free throws to extend the lead back to seven, but junior Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) knocked down a three from the far corner to cut the deficit to 80-76 with under one minute remaining. Lowell hit six free throws down the stretch to seal the win and close the all-time series to 23-17 in favor of Saint Anselm.

Baudinet led the Hawks with 25 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 9-for-10 at the free throw line. Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.), Vetrano and Woodhouse all finished in double figures as well for the team, with Woodhouse pulling down a team-best eight rebounds. For the game, the Hawks converted on 31-of-37 free throw attempts and outrebounded the River Hawks by a 41-37 margin, including 12-7 on the offensive glass. Caiola led all scorers with 32 points, including 9-for-11 at the charity stripe. Carr finished with 17 points behind five three-pointers, while Kanaan added 10 points.

With the loss, Saint Anselm drops to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the Northeast-10. With the victory, UMass Lowell improves to 5-2 on the season and 3-2 in league play. The Hawks are back in action on Tuesday evening as the team hosts Saint Michael's for a 7:30 p.m. start in Stoutenburgh Gym.