BOX SCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Greg Vetrano led five Saint Anselm College players in double figures with 22 points as the Hawks posted an 80-62 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University at the SNHU Fieldhouse Tuesday night.  Saint Anselm, which is receiving votes in the latest NABC Division II Poll, won its seventh in a row to improve to 10-1 and 6-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 7-6 and 3-5 in the league.

Vetrano totaled 16 of his points in the first half and finished the game 8-14 from the floor and connected on four three pointers.  John Tello totaled 13 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks, who also got 11 points from John Mariano.  Branimir Zeko and Jack Keough each totaled 10 points.

Gerald Carter (Harlem, NY) led Southern New Hampshire with 16 points and five rebounds, hitting three of his six three-point attempts.  Stephen Wood (South Jamaica Queens, NY) registered 11 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Matthews (Valley Stream, NY) scored all 10 of his points in the first half.

SNHU and Saint Anselm traded the lead six times in the game's opening minutes before the Hawks used a 16-4 run to take a 24-13 lead midway through the first half on Vetrano's third three of the game.  The Penmen would chip away at the lead and cut it to six twice, the second on a pair of Carter free throws 1:44 before halftime that made it 36-30.  Saint Anselm carried a 43-32 lead into halftime following a layup at the buzzer by Zeko.

The Penmen outscored the Hawks 12-4 over the first six minutes of the second half and pulled within three, 47-44, with 14 minutes to go on a layup by Kelly Coder (Exeter, NH).  Saint Anselm led 52-49 when it went on a 10-0 run capped by a Luptowski three with just over eight minutes left that gave his team a 62-49 lead.  The Hawks would maintain a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

Saint Anselm shot 60.7% in the first half and 53.6% for the game while limiting the Penmen to just 37.3% shooting for the game.  The Hawks committed 19 turnovers, but held a commanding 42-23 rebounding advantage for the game.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Thursday night when it travels to Southern Connecticut State University for a 7:30 Northeast-10 contest.

NOTES: Both teams were without their leading scorers, as Saint Anselm's Thomas Baudinet (16.4 ppg) and SNHU's Tory Stapleton (13.5 ppg) missed the game with injuries...Saint Anselm has won six of the last eight meetings with the Penmen, but SNHU still holds a 26-23 lead in the all-time series.