Manchester, N.H. (February 4) - Sophomore forward John Tello (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) knocked down a pair of free throws late in the second to help the Hawks hold off Southern Connecticut by a 72-68 final at Stoutenburgh Gym. Tello's free throws gave the Hawks the lead and another pair from Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) sealed the victory for the Hawks. Saint Anselm has now won 13 straight games over Southern Connecticut, dating back to 1993.

Saint Anselm came out firing and jumped out to a quick 13-3 double-digit lead, capped by a three-pointer from Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) with 16:28 on the clock. Over the next 5:50, the Owls scored 18 unanswered points and took an eight-point lead at 21-13. Saint Anselm came roaring back though with a 12-4 run of its own and tied it at 25-25 on a three-point play by freshman guard Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y.). After another 10-0 Owl scoring run pushed the lead back to double digits, the Hawks used a late three from Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) and a pair of free throws from Tello to close to 37-32 at the halftime break.

In the second half, the Hawks pushed ahead to a seven-point lead with 8:53 left after a Williams layup. Southern Connecticut answered though and eventually took the lead at 66-64 following a pair of free throws from Trevor Harris (Nanuet, N.Y.). The game was tied twice more before the Hawks wrapped things up from the free throw line. In the second half, Saint Anselm shot an incredible 20-for-21 from the charity stripe.

Tello led the way with 21 points, while Baudinet finished with 18 and Williams had a 12-point showing. Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.) led the Owls with 15 points off the bench. In all, four Owls ended up in double figures.

With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 13-8 overall and 8-8 in the Northeast-10, while the Owls are now 1-20 overall and 0-16 in the Northeast-10. Saint Anselm returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the team travels to Saint Rose for a 3:30 p.m. start in Albany, N.Y.