MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team led by as many as 41 points on Tuesday night, locking down the Northeast Division's Regular Season Championship for the third consecutive season with a convincing 94-55 win over Bentley University.
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The Hawks improve to 18-8 overall on the year, logging a 14-5 record against Northeast-10 Conference opponents to clinch the top seed in the upcoming NE10 postseason. The Hawks have claimed the regular-season title in each of the past three seasons and at least a share of the league's best divisional or in-league record for the ninth time in program history.
Saint Anselm will host an NE10 Quarterfinals contest this Sunday, Mar. 1 at 4 p.m., immediately upon the conclusion of the 2 p.m. women's basketball playoff game between the Hawks and the University of New Haven. The men's team will battle the winner of the First Round game on Friday between Southern New Hampshire and the hosts from Pace.
The Hawks allowed a season-low 55 points to Bentley (17-11, 9-10 NE10). The margin of victory for Saint Anselm, 39 points, is far and away the largest in a Hawks victory over Bentley in program history. Saint Anselm has also won 11 of the last 13 games over the Falcons in Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
Junior Chris Paul (Highland Mills, N.Y.) finished with an impressive stat line, notching 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Classmate Gustav Suhr-Jessen (Virum, Denmark) had a big night for Saint Anselm, finishing with 16 points and 13 boards, giving him his fifth double-double of the season.
The Hawks opened up a 13-3 lead in the game's first 4:32 and never looked back, reaching 20 points with a triple from sophomore Joey Belli (Wayne, N.J.) with 10:28 left in the opener. A dunk by Suhr-Jessen shortly into the game sparked a dominant 40-9 scoring run by the Hawks that was only interrupted by halftime.
Ahead by a 53-16 margin at halftime, the Hawks maintained solid offensive pressure and did not lead by less than 33 points throughout regulation. Shooting at a 63.6% clip in the opening 20 minutes (21-for-33), the Hawks offense cooled slightly (53.3%, 16-for-30) but still forced the issue at the glass, picking up 21 of the game's final 35 rebounds.
On Senior Day, each of the Hawks six seniors saw game time in the contest. Brenden Vessichio (Berlin, Conn.) finished an and-one in the paint, Jack Loughnane (Quincy, Mass.) drained a three-pointer and Jimmy Panzini (Spring Lake, N.J.) scored a bucket before the Hawks final possession. Cole Gill (Windham, N.H.) finished with two rebounds and an assist.
David DiZazzo (Methuen, Mass.) and Danny Evans (Leeds, United Kingdom) joined their four classmates on the court as part of a pre-game ceremony. Evans finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Chris Hudson led Bentley with 11 points and seven rebounds. The Falcons finished the game by shooting 32.4% on the evening, making just 22 of their 68 field goals.
