Manchester, N.H. (February 26) -- Saint Anselm
used a strong second-half run to turn a two-point halftime deficit
into a double-digit advantage as Assumption dropped a 77-61 final
to the Hawks in the first round of the Northeast-10 Tournament at
Stoutenburgh Gym. The Greyhounds trailed by a 27-25 margin at the
half before the Hawks pushed the lead into double figures.
Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the
Greyhounds took their first lead of the game just moments later
after a pair of free throws by senior forward Mike
Baldarelli (Sutton, Mass./Holy Name). Neither team led by
more than two points over the remainder of the half that featured
12 lead changes and four ties as the Hawks took the slim 27-25 lead
into the halftime break. Sophomore Bobby Harris (Berlin,
N.J./Eastern) led the Greyhounds with 10 points in the
period, while Allen Harris (Roslindale, Mass.) was
the top Saint Anselm scorer with seven points.
The Hawks came out firing in the second half with a quick 8-0
run to push the lead into double digits for the first time at
35-25. Baldarelli ended that run, but the Hawks kept up the
pressure on and continued to lead by 10 with 15:39 remaining. The
Greyhounds cut the lead down to five on two separate occasions on
baskets from Ronson Quick (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee)
before the Hawks took control of the game and led by as many as 19
points in the victory.
Three Greyhounds finished in double figures, led by a 17-point
effort from Harris. Sophomore Mike Auriemma (Manchester,
Conn./The Hun School) scored 13 points, along with a
10-point effort from Quick. Baudinet led the Hawks with a 26-point
effort as he moved into third place on the Saint Anselm career
scoring list early in the game. Harris also finished with double
figures with 18 points for the Hawks.
The Greyhounds end the season at 12-17 overall, while Saint
Anselm improves to 19-8 overall and advances to take on Saint Rose
next week in the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals. The game
also marks the final game at Assumption for 10-year head
coach Serge DeBari, who recently announced his retirement
effective at the end of the season.
