Junior Daniel Heppert drained four free-throws in the final second seconds to clinch tonight's win over Saint Anselm.

#22 Stonehill Fends Off Saint Anselm, 58-56

Skyhawks withstand late Hawks rally for sixth-straight win, remain atop NE-10 standings

Boxscore 

EASTON, Mass. (February 17, 2010) - Stonehill College, ranked 22^nd in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll and also ranked second in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, withstood a late comeback effort from Saint Anselm College to post its sixth-straight win with a 58-56 triumph in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.

Junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) only scored four points on the night, but they were the most important ones as he converted his final four free-throw attempts in the closing seven seconds to seal Stonehill's sixth-straight win and 12^th over its last 13. Heppert also added seven rebounds.

Senior A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) led a balanced Stonehill effort with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field while converting 4-of-6 free-throws to go with four rebounds and three blocked shots. Classmate Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) added 12 points, three assists and two blocks, while freshman Brian Hamor (Guilderland, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) added a spark off the bench with 13 points, on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Sophomore Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds off the bench for the Skyhawks.

Junior Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn./Taft) led all scorers and was the lone Saint Anselm player in double-figures with  26 points (19 second half) on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range, to go with five rebounds. Sophomore Jack Keough (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego Free Academy) added eight points, four rebounds and four steals, while junior Pat Luptowski (Keene, N.H./Keene) contributed eight points, on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, three assists and two steals.

Freshman Brian Hamor provided a spark off the bench with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Stonehill finished shooting 51.2-percent (22-for-43) from the field, including 55.6% (10-18) in the second half. Saint Anselm made 43.1-percent (22-for-51) of its shots from the field, but was a blistering 60% (15-25) in the second half, including 71.4% (5-7) from three-point range, to climb back into the game after trailing by as much as 11. The Skyhawks finished with a 33-22 rebounding advantage and the bench out-scored the Hawks 17-6 for the night.

After rallying from an 11-point deficit early in the second half, Saint Anselm forged a three-point lead (51-48) after a jumper by Baudinet with 5:28 left in regulation. Stonehill answered with three-straight points as Stallworth split two tries at the free-throw line with 5:12 to play and Rudowitz knotted the score (51-51) with two free-throws with 3:45 remaining. Senior Branimir Zeko (Mississauga, Ontario) put the Hawks back in front with a jumper with 3:24 to play, but the Skyhawks would hold the visitors without a field goal until a desperation three by Baudinet with a second left.

Rudowitz made one-of-two at the free-throw line to pull Stonehill within a point, and then gave the hosts the lead for good with a second-chance layup after his miss with 2:32 to play. That would be the Skyhawks last field goal of the night, but they held the Hawks scoreless on the next four possessions, including two key free-throw misses from Zeko with 1:27 remaining. Heppert missed the front end of a one-and-one with 23-seconds left, but Hamor got a hand on Baudinet's jumper at the other end and Heppert came away with the key defensive rebound.

Heppert was fouled again, but avenged his earlier miss by draining four-straight attempts in the final seven seconds to put Stonehill up five (58-53) and seal the victory and keep the Skyhawks in sole possession of first place in the NE-10 standings. 

Senior A.J. Rudowitz led the Skyhawks with 14 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.

Stonehill bounced back from missing its first six field goals and committing six turnovers in the opening seven minutes of the contest to lead by as much as 11 before settling for a nine-point (28-19) halftime lead. Saint Anselm led 7-1 after a Baudinet three 4:02 into the contest. The Skyhawks turned up their defense, holding the Hawks to just two points over the next 8:05, while their shots started to fall in a 13-2 run to take a five-point lead (14-9) following a layup from sophomore Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) with 9:53 to play in the frame. Hamor sparked the run with six points.

Saint Anselm answered with a Zeko jumper with 7:53 left in the half to stop the drought, but Stonehill extended its lead to 11 (24-13) with a 10-2 spurt, keyed by a three-point play from Stallworth.

Stonehill's lead was still 11 (35-24) after a Stallworth three 1:51 into the second half, but Saint Anselm started chipping away and drew within three (39-36) after a Baudinet jumper with 12:33 remaining. Luptowski led that charge with back-to-back three-pointers. The Skyhawks regained a six-point cushion (44-38) after a Hamor three midway through the half, but the Hawks scored nine-straight points, capped by a three-pointer and jumper by Baudinet to take a three-point lead (47-44) with 6:59 left and set up the dramatic finish.

Stonehill (21-4, 18-2 NE-10) closes out the regular season with a pair of road games, beginning Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University at 3:30 p.m., visiting 10^th-ranked and second-place Bentley University next Wednesday, February 24, at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks have earned a first round bye in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament and will host a quarterfinal round contest on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. Saint Anselm (16-9, 12-8 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday, when it hosts the University of Massachusetts Lowell for a key NE-10 battle at 3:30 p.m.