Second Half Shooting Lifts Stonehill Past Saint Anselm, 61-52

Skyhawks connect on 54.5-percent of second-half shots to post fourth-straight win

Boxscore 

Junior Mike Kernan posted a season-high 16 points, including 12 in the second half, to lead Stonehill to a key road win at Saint Anselm tonight.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (December 2, 2009) - Stonehill College used 54.5-percent shooting in the second half to post its fourth-straight victory with a 61-52 triumph at Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium tonight.

Junior Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) led Stonehill with a game and season-high 16 points (12 second half) on 8-of-13 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds in 29 minutes before fouling out. Senior A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) was held to a season-low 13 points (nine first half), but made 4-of-9 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free-throw attempts while nearly notching a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds to go with four assists and two blocked shots.

Junior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn./Taft) led three Saint Anselm players in double-figures with 14 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Senior Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass./Andover) added 13 points, while sophomore Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y./Saint Joseph's (N.J.)) chipped in ten points and two steals in 14 minutes off the bench.

Stonehill finished shooting 47.9-percent (23-for-48) from the field, including 54.5% (12-22) in the second half to take command. Saint Anselm was held to 32.2-percent shooting (19-for-59) from the field, including 4-for-17 (23.5%) from three-point range.

The game was even at 35-35 after a Vetrano jumper just over four minutes into the second half. Stonehill started pulling away with a 12-2 run over the next six-plus minutes to stake the first double-figure lead by either team (47-37) following a layup by freshman Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) with 10:15 remaining. Kernan aided the run for the Skyhawks with six points.

Vetrano split two free-throws with 7:50 to go that had Saint Anselm within nine (49-40), but Stonehill used another quick burst with a 10-3 run to take a game-high 16-point advantage (59-43) after a Kernan layup with 3:38 left that all but sealed things. Kernan contributed six more points to that spree. Saint Anselm made one last run at it as the Skyhawks went just 2-for-5 at the line the rest of the way and came up empty on two field goal attempts with two turnovers, but the Hawks turned the ball over three times down the stretch.

A conventional three-point play from Williams with 27-seconds left, pulled Saint Anselm back within eight (60-52), but that's as close as the Hawks would get, turning the ball over on their next possession after junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) made one of two from the line at the other end.

Saint Anselm's largest lead of the night came early with a three-point cushion (7-4) after a jumper from senior Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) just over two minutes into the contest. Stonehill led by two (21-19) with 5:33 left in the half before scoring seven-straight points, sparked by a three-pointer from sophomore Andre Tongo (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough), to create a nine-point lead (28-19) 3:20 before the intermission, eventually settling for a six-point (30-24) advantage at the break.

Stonehill (4-1, 3-0 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Southern New Hampshire University in Merkert Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (3-2, 2-2 NE-10) visits a University of Massachusetts Lowell team among other teams receiving votes in this week's NABC Division II poll on Saturday at 4 p.m.