Albany, N.Y. (January 15) -- After rallying from an eight-point, second-half deficit to force overtime, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team fell to Saint Rose by a 101-93 final on Saturday afternoon at Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Hawks forced the extra period by tying the game late in regulation, their third overtime in the last six games.
The Hawks built to an early 10-4 lead in the opening minutes before a 9-2 Saint Rose run, capped by a jumper from Rob Gutierrez, put the Golden Knights in front by a 13-12 margin. The two teams went back and forth until late in the first half as Saint Anselm led by a 32-27 score after a three from Andre Pope. The Hawks tied the game twice before the half, but Saint Rose kept up the pressure and led 41-36 with just seconds left in the first period. With just .3 seconds left, Saint Anselm senior John Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 41-38 score heading to the break. Pope scored 19 for the Golden Knights in the first half to lead all scorers, while freshman Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) and senior All-American candidate Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) each had nine points for the Hawks in the period.
In the second half, the Golden Knights extended their lead to 56-48 with 14:27, which would turn out to be the largest lead for Saint Rose over the remainder of regulation. Saint Anselm continued to chip away at the deficit and with 10:11 remaining, Harris knocked down a pair of free throws to close to within 64-62.
Saint Rose used a three-point play from Shea Bromirski and five quick points from big man Dominykas Milka over the next 3:30 though and with 6:45 left, the Golden Knights were seemingly back in control at 72-65. The Hawks closed to within 74-72 on a Harris runner in the lane, got to within one on a Baudinet triple from NBA range and eventually tied the game on a Baudinet three from deep in the far corner for a 78-78 game with 3:02 left.
Trailing 82-80 with 1:30 left after a Saint Rose layup by Brian Hanuschak and needing the ball, Hawk freshman Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.) stole the ball in the lane and called timeout with 48.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Harris converted a layup with 28.7 seconds left to tie the game again and Bromirski missed a runner with 2.8 seconds left for the potential winning basket. The Hawks inbounded the ball but were unable to get off a shot from midcourt before the buzzer.
In the extra period, the teams were battling for momentum over the first couple minutes and with 1:58 left, Saint Rose took an 89-88 lead as Devin Grimes hit the front end of two free throws. The Hawks took their first lead since midway thru the first period on the next possession as Baudinet knocked down a jumper off the glass for the 90-89 edge with 1:42 left. The Golden Knights used two quick baskets to take the lead for good with just over a minute later, followed by a Hawk turnover and five Saint Rose free throws to seal the victory.
Leading the way for the Hawks was Baudinet, who finished with 35 points on 14-for-27 shooting and five three-pointers. Scoring 26 of his points after halftime, Baudinet also added eight rebounds and four assists before fouling out in the final seconds. In addition, Baudinet surpassed the 1,700-point mark for his career and now has 1,701 career points, putting him seventh on the career scoring list. Harris was impressive with a 28-point, nine-rebound performance as he shot 10-for-16 from the field. His 28-point effort is his career-high as he is second on the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game. The two teams combined for 69 free throw attempts on 54 fouls called, with Saint Rose outscoring the Hawks 28-22 at the charity stripe.
Bromirski and Pope paced four Golden Knights in double figures with 26 and 22 points each, respectively. Sheldon Griffin was the game's leading rebounder with 11 boards.
Saint Anselm, receiving votes in the NABC Division II Top 25 Poll for the last three weeks, falls to 12-3 overall and 8-3 in Northeast-10 play, while Saint Rose is now 12-4 overall and 7-4 in the league.
Saint Anselm is back in action on Wednesday, January 19th as the Hawks travel to Southern Connecticut for a 7:30 p.m. start in New Haven, Conn.
