Syracuse, N.Y. (February 14) -- Two missed free
throws in the final seconds proved costly as Saint Anselm dropped a
79-68 final at Le Moyne on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court in
Northeast-10 men's basketball play. The Dolphins have now won five
straight over the Hawks.
Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 16-2 lead before the
Dolphins closed the gap down to four at 22-18 after a 16-6 scoring
run. A baseline jumper from Branimir Zeko (Mississauga,
Ontario) pushed the lead back to six and after Le Moyne
cut into that, the Hawks got the lead back to seven at 28-21 after
a layup from Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.).
Laurence Ekperigin scored to make it 28-25 with
1:49 left in the opening half and was fouled, but missed the free
throw to try to cut into the lead any further. Christopher
Johnson hit a jumper in the final seconds of the first
half to make it a 30-27 halftime lead in favor of the Hawks.
The Dolphins tied the game at 34-34 in the first five minutes of
the second period and eventually took a 38-37 lead on a turnaround
jumper by Kevin Roth. Le Moyne pushed the lead to
40-37 and after the 6-0 run, Saint Anselm called a timeout with
12:34 left. Johnson added a three for Le Moyne to make it 43-37
before a Zeko layup ended the Le Moyne run at 9-0. The Dolphins
pushed the lead up to seven points for the first time with 9:03
left as Ekperigin threw down a dunk and got fouled for a 48-41
advantage.
After Roth knocked down one of two free throw attempts, the
Hawks pulled even at 49-49 after a pair of three-pointers from
Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) and Thomas
Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.). Saint Anselm regained the
lead on a fastbreak three-point play by Vetrano and pushed it up to
57-53 with 4:24 left on another three-pointer.
Six straight points by Ekperigin gave the Dolphins a 59-57 lead
with 3:04 left before Vetrano knocked down a triple from the top of
the key for a 60-59 edge. After the two teams traded the lead back
and forth, Ekperigin went to the line with the Hawks up 62-61 with
17.7 seconds left in regulation. Ekperigin missed both and
Luptowski was fouled for the Hawks, where he then missed the front
end of a one and one.
After Ekperigin lost the rebound, Baudinet was fouled and went
to the line for Saint Anselm. He made the first and missed the
second and the ball was rebounded by the Dolphins. Corbin scored on
a layup with 5.4 seconds left in regulation to tie things at 63-63
and Vetrano was stripped driving the lane to send the game into the
extra period.
In overtime, two baskets by Johnson and pair of Barnes' free
throws gave the Dolphins a quick 69-63 lead. Baudinet cut the lead
to 69-66 with 2:36 remaining before Le Moyne wrapped the game up at
the free throw line down the stretch.
Baudinet led the Hawks with a 22-point effort, while Zeko had an
11-point, 10-rebound double-double and Jack Keough (Owego,
N.Y.) scored 10 points. Ekperigin posted a 20-point,
10-rebound, five-block performance, while Johnson had a 21-point
afternoon. Roth added 15, along with a 10-point, 10-rebound
double-double from Barnes. Le Moyne owned a 19-8 edge at the line
and outrebounded Saint Anselm, 47-31.
Saint Anselm falls to 13-11 overall and 8-11 in the
Northeast-10, while Le Moyne now sits at 15-10 overall and 11-9 in
NE-10 play. The Hawks are back in action on Monday night as the
team hosts Franklin Pierce in a makeup game beginning at 7:30 p.m.
