Syracuse, N.Y. (March 1) -- Led by four players
in double figures, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team toppled
No. 4 seeded Le Moyne by a 74-67 final on Monday night to advance
to the Northeast-10 Tournament semfinals for the second straight
season.
In the first half, Le Moyne jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead
before the Hawks tied the game at 9-9 on a pull-up jumper from
junior Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.). With the
Dolphins holding a 13-11 lead at the 13:18 mark, the Hawks went on
a 7-0 run after and a putback from Branimir Zeko
(Mississauga, Ontario), the Hawks had a five-point lead.
Saint Anselm stretched the advantage to as many as seven at
29-22 before the Dolphins again made it a two-point game on a
three-pointer by Christopher Johnson with 3:07
left. Four quick points by Jack Keough (Owego,
N.Y.) and a layup from Le Moyne's Laurence
Ekperigin sent the game into halftime at 37-33 in favor of
Saint Anselm. Junior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown,
Conn.) and Zeko each had 12 points to lead the Hawks,
while Ekperigin paced the Dolphins with 13 first-half points.
In the second half, Le Moyne came out firing and quickly took a
39-37 lead just 1:17 into the period. Saint Anselm answered though
with a convincing 17-4 run though and pushed the lead to double
digits at 54-43 with 12:05 remaining. Le Moyne had a run in them
though and with 1:29 left, the Dolphins made it a one-point game at
68-67 after a layup by Kevin Roth. A jumper by
Luptowski and four Hawk free throws sealed the game for Saint
Anselm.
Zeko, the NE-10 Player of the Week, exploded for a 22-point,
15-rebound double-double to lead the Hawks, Keough posted a
11-point, 10-rebound double-double, along with 16 points each
Baudinet and Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.).
Johnson led Le Moyne with 18 points, along with 17 points by
Ekperigin. Roth and Damani Corbin also finished in
double figures for the Dolphins.
With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 20-9 overall, while Le
Moyne drops to 18-10 with the loss. Saint Anselm is back in action
at home on Thursday night, hosting No. 9 seed Adelphi at
Stoutenburgh Gym. Game time is set for 7 p.m., with the game also
being carried live at http://www.northeast10.tv/.
Tickets for the game at $7.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors and
children, $1.00 for Northeast-10 students and FREE for all Saint
Anselm STUDENTS with a VALID SAINT ANSELM ID.
