Men's Hoop Tops Saint Anselm 85-81

BOX SCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Troy Bowen (Nashua, NH) poured in a career-high 28 points to lead Southern New Hampshire University as it withstood a late Saint Anselm College rally to post an 85-81 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory the Hawks at the SNHU Fieldhouse Thursday night.  The win improves the Penmen to 6-7 overall and3-6 in the NE-10, while the Hawks are 6-7 and 4-5 in the league.

Bowen was 3-6 from three-point land and 11-20 from the floor overall.  He paced four Penmen in double figures.  Freshman Cory Vejraska (Alachua, FL) matched his season-high with 18 points and grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds, while Chase Miller (Fairfax, VA) was 8-8 at the free throw line and totaled 13 points.  Sam Carey (Manchester, NH) finished with 12 points despite playing just eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.  Gerald Carter (Harlem, NH) finished with six points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Chris Vetrano (Andover, MA) led Saint Anselm with 21 points, going 5-10 from three-point land.  Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, CT) and John Tello (Ridgefield Park, NJ) each finished with 15 points apiece for the Hawks.

SNHU led 36-33 at halftime and after falling behind 42-39 early in the second half on a basket by Lewis Thompson (Wall, NJ), used a 16-7 spurt to take a 55-49 lead on a Miller three with 10:55 to go.  The Penmen gradually pulled away and took their largest lead, 69-52, on a layup by Carey with 5:38 left.

The Penmen held a 77-65 lead with just over three minutes to play when the Hawks went on a 11-2 run, a layup by Vetrano with 40 seconds left cutting the lead to three, 79-76.  The Penmen would seal the victory at the line by going 6-8 at the free throw line over the waning moments of the contest.

After the two teams traded baskets early in the first half, SNHU used a 11-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Fotis Lioutas (Thessaloniki, Greece) at the 9:14 mark to take a 21-11 lead.  The Hawks responded with a 11-4 spurt of their own and Vetrano's three with 6:17 on the clock made it 25-22 in favor of the hosts.  The Penmen would take a 36-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Both teams shot the ball well over the final 20 minutes, with SNHU shooting 56.7% and Saint Anselm 61.3%.  The difference came at the free throw line, where the Penmen were 21-25 for the game while the Hawks were just 8-13.  SNHU also connected on eight of its 17 three point attempts (as opposed to 11-27 for the Hawks) and outrebounded Saint Anselm 40-30.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Saturday when it travels to Franklin Pierce University for a 3:30 contest.