Saint Anselm Rallies From 10 Down For 66-62 Win at Stonehill

Easton, Mass. (December 1) -- Rallying from 10 points down with 7:46 remaining, the Saint Anselm men's basketball team defeated Stonehill by a 66-62 final on Wednesday night. The Hawks closed the game on a 21-7 run, holding the Skyhawks to just three field goals over the final eight minutes of the game. The win is the first victory at Merkert Gym for the Hawks since the 2006 Northeast-10 Championship game.

Stonehill jumped out to an 11-2 lead with 16:51 left in the first half before the Hawks embarked on a 21-6 run and led by a 23-17 margin with 8:01 remaining. The Hawks took the lead at the 11:51 mark on a three-pointer from the corner by freshman forward Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.). The lead changed hands seven times over the remainder of the period, with Saint Anselm holding its last lead at 29-28 with 2:42 left after a pair of free throws by freshman Dino Mallios (Winthrop, Mass.). The Skyhawks regained the lead on layup by Sam Markle (Bethany, Conn.) off a turnover and eventually took a 33-29 advantage into the locker room.

Saint Anselm closed to within 33-32 early in the second half on a three from Harris, but Stonehill extended the lead to 47-41 with 11:50 left on a jumper from Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J.) that forced a Saint Anselm timeout.

Stonehill pushed the lead into double digits at 55-45 with 7:46 remaining before five straight points from Jack Keough (Owego, N.Y.) closed the Hawks back to within five at 55-50 as Stonehill called a timeout with 5:44 left. The Hawks came out of the timeout and tied the game just over a minute later as Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H.) knocked down a three, along with a pull-up jumper from Harris, to tie the game for the first time in the half.

On the ensuing Hawk possession, senior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) gave Saint Anselm its first lead of the second half as he knocked down a baseline turnaround jumper for the 57-55 edge with 3:44 remaining. The Hawks eventually pushed the lead to as many as eight at 63-55, capping an 18-0 run. Baudinet knocked down a pair of free throws late to help seal the victory.

Harris led four Hawks in double figures with 18 points, along with 15 points for Mallios in his first career start. Baudinet added 13 points, along with an 11-point effort from Keough. Kernan finished with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead three Skyhawks in double figures.

The Hawks improve to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Northeast-10 with the win, while the Skyhawks fall to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, December 4 as the Hawks host UMass Lowell for a 3:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym. The game is available live online at www.SaintAnselmHawks.tv.