#25 Hawks Prevail with Hard Fought 77-65 Victory Over AIC
Manchester, NH (January 29)– Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, CT) was held scoreless for the first fifteen minutes of the first half. American International's tough defense couldn't keep the clamps on the St. Anselm star, and Baudinet erupted for a game-high 29 points as the #25 Hawks beat the Yellow Jackets 77-65 in Northeast-10 conference action Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
With the win, Saint. Anselm moves to 15-4 overall and 11-4 in the NE-10. The loss drops AIC to 15-5 overall and 11-4 in the NE-10. The two teams are now tied for 2nd place in the conference behind leader Bentley College. The battle featured not only two of the top teams in the conference, but in the country as the Hawks were ranked 25th in the latest NCAA poll, while the Yellow Jackets were receiving votes.
The contest looked like it would be a blowout by halftime. After the two sides dueled to a 14-12 score through the first ten minutes, St. A's went on a 27-10 run to close out the first half, leading 41-22 at the break. AIC would claw its way back, eventually making it a six point game after an Isiah Wallace (Springfield, MA) jumper with just 1:02 to go.
The Hawks cruised from there though with baskets from Allen Harris (Roslindale, MA) and Pat Luptowski (Keene, NH) to close out the game. It was the final regular season meeting for Luptowski against his father, Art, head coach of the Yellow Jackets. Wallace led AIC with 22 points.
Saint. Anselm heads to Southern New Hampshire this Wednesday. The Hawks cruised past the Penmen 64-49 in their first matchup this season. For more information, log on to athletics.anselm.edu.
