Clarke Scores 21 Points To Lead Six Players In Double Figures As Men's Basketball Blisters Nets To Pick Up Sixth Straight Victory With 90-81 Northeast-10 Triumph Over Saint Anselm

January 3, 2007

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: STONEHILL 90, SAINT ANSELM 81

EASTON, Mass.-- Senior Lance Clarke (Cambridge, Mass.) scored a career-high 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Stonehill claimed its sixth straight victory with a 90-81 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball triumph over Saint Anselm Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.

After trailing by 11 points (17-6) early in the contest, the host Skyhawks (11-3, 6-3 Northeast-10) closed the first half on a 39-8 run over the final 14:37 of action, as the visiting Hawks (8-5, 4-4 Northeast-10) went scoreless for a 7:43 stretch and made only three field goals during the run as Stonehill grabbed a 45-25 advantage at the break in a re-match of last year's conference championship game. The hosts built that lead to 21 points (72-51) on a lay-in by freshman Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) with 7:36 remaining, but Saint Anselm scored 11 unanswered points to cut its deficit to 10 (72-62) on a three-pointer by junior Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 4:11 to play. After the Skyhawks regained a 14-point cushion, the Hawks answered with a quick 8-0 run to trail by six (79-73) with 1:13 remaining, but a combined seven free throws by Clarke and sophomore Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) in the final 53 seconds of action helped ice the Stonehill triumph.

Freshman AJ Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) added 13 points for the winners, who also received 12 points from Hall and 11 points from senior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.). Stallworth added a double-double effort of 10 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Skyhawks, who also received 10 points off the bench from freshman Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia). Sophomore Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds for Stonehill, which blistered the nets at a 62 percent clip and held a 50-20 scoring advantage in the paint to post their fourth win in the last five meetings with Saint Anselm.

Mitchell led all scorers with 25 points, including six three-pointers, in the setback for the Hawks, who also received 19 points and six rebounds from freshman Ross Pentland (Holden, Mass.). Freshman Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) added 13 points for the visitors, while junior Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) collected 10 points and six assists for Saint Anselm, which shot 43 percent overall and canned 13 three-pointers while scoring 23 points off of 16 Stonehill turnovers.

Stonehill travels to Colchester, Vt. on Saturday afternoon to take on Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 outing that tips-off at 3:30 p.m., while Saint Anselm heads to Lowell, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to square off with UMass Lowell in a Northeast-10 contest that begins at 4:00 p.m.