Smith's 1,000th Point Helps Skyhawks To 68-58 Win
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Colin Scanlon had an excellent all-around game in the win over St. Anselm, recording six points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. |
North Easton, Mass. - A 16 point first half lead was whittled down to three midway through the second half before Stonehill righted the ship and secured a 68-58 win over St. Anselm in only its fourth home game of the season on Wednesday night at Merkert Gymnasium.
The win for Stonehill was their fourth straight as they improve to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in Northeast-10 play.
The game began slowly as neither team could get their offense going. They combined to miss six straight shots and commit four turnovers before a point was scored in the contest.
After St. Anselm's Jeff Dickson finally broke the ice, Stonehill answered with an 11-0 run, nine of which came courtesy of junior Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) as he eclipsed the 1,000 point mark on a cutting layup with 15:25 to go in the first half.
Stonehill continued its efficiency on offense, shooting 52 percent in the first 20 minutes while holding the visitors to a 32 percent, including a 3-for-13 showing from behind the arc. But the Hawks wouldn't go away and trimmed the lead to just nine at intermission following a half-ending 5-0 burst.
Thomas Baudinet knocked down two quick jumpers, along with a layup from Giovanni Carenza and the Hawks were within five at 34-29 with 18:17 remaining.
Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) answered for the Skyhawks though, with a four-point play and a fast break layup as the lead went back to nine points. The lead went into double figures on a number of occasions, including at 48-38 on a Vince Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J.) triple. But the Hawks battled back and closed to within three points at 50-47 on a layup from Chris Vetrano. That was as close as the Hawks would get, as Stonehill closed the game on a 12-7 run.
Hall led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Randall Stallworth added 13 and Smith collected 12 and five rebounds.
Baudinet led the Hawks with 14 and Lewis Thompson dropped in 12, as St. Anselm shot just 37 percent from the floor and 22 percent from behind the arc for the game. The Skyhawks held a 26-11 edge in points off of turnovers although the turnover battle was close at 19-18.
Stonehill returns to action on Saturday for a home meeting with St. Michael's. Tip time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.