Springfield, Mass.
(February 28) -- Led by a 16-point, second-half
explosion by junior forward Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover,
N.J.), the Saint Anselm men's basketball team pulled away
from American International for an 81-65 victory on Saturday
afternoon to advance to the conference quarterfinals. The Hawks
will face top-seeded Bentley University on Monday night at the Dana
Center, beginning at 7 p.m.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 12-9 advantage before the
Yellow Jackets got back within one point just moments later. A
three-pointer by Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.)
gave the Hawks their biggest lead to that point at 15-11 with 12:35
remaining. The Yellow Jackets answered right back though as
freshman Isiah Wallace (Springfield, Mass.)
converted a three-point play to make it a one-point game again.
American International continued its run with a jumper by Wallace
and a reverse layup from Adrian Hynes-Guery (Montreal,
Quebec) for the 18-15 advantage with 10:03 left, forcing a
Hawk timeout. The AIC 11-0 run came to an end at the 6:52 mark on a
layup by Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) to
make it a 26-17 game, ending scoreless stretch of 5:43 for the
Hawks.
After the Yellow Jackets pushed the lead into double figures,
the Hawks closed to within 35-28 at the halftime break.
Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) and Vetrano led
the Hawks with seven points each in the half, while Wallace nearly
had a first-half double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Saint Anselm came out firing in the opening minutes of the
second half, while also holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless for
the first 3:25 of the period. Seven quick points by Carenza, along
with a three-pointer by Baudinet, put the Hawks up 38-35 with 17:11
left. After a three by Mike Troll (New York, N.Y.)
tied things up at 38-38 again, a pair of free throws by freshman
Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) gave the Hawks the lead
yet again. Carenza knocked down two more hoops, along with a corner
three from Baudinet and it was Saint Anselm with a 47-40 lead with
14:37 remaining. The Hawks continued their run and with 10:52
remaining, the visitors had turned a seven-point halftime deficit
into a 54-44 lead.
Saint Anselm continued to add to its lead and after a Vetrano
trifecta with 8:09 left, the lead swelled to 64-48. After AIC
pulled back within 15 points, the Hawks used a corner three-pointer
from Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) and a layup by
Zeko to push the lead to 20 for the first time at 74-54 with 5:04
on the clock. The Hawks maintained at least a 15-point cushion for
the remainder of the game to advance to the quarterfinals to face
the two-time defending regional champion Bentley Falcons. Saint
Anselm shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half,
including 8-for-10 from three-point land.
Baudinet led the Hawks with 25 points while shooting 10-for-11
from the field, while Carenza finished up with 20 points and eight
rebounds. Vetrano ended up with 13 points. Wallace finished with a
23-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the Yellow Jackets.
With the win, the Hawks are now 16-12 overall, while American
International ends its season at 15-13.
