Men's Basketball

The Saint Anselm men's basketball team continues Northeast-10 Tournament play as the Hawks travel to top-seeded Bentley on Tuesday night for a quarterfinal matchup at the Dana Center in Waltham. The Hawks advanced to the second round with an 81-65 romp over American International on Saturday afternoon. Saint Anselm was the lone road team to claim a victory in the tournament's first round, advancing beyond the opening round for the 18th time in 24 league tourney appearances.

Probable Starters: Below are the probable starters for the Hawks' quarterfinal matchup with Bentley University.

Guard: #11 Greg Vetrano, Jr., 5-10, 160 (Andover, Mass.)
Guard: #20 Pat Luptowski, So, 6-1, 170 (Keene, N.H.)
Guard: #22 Thomas Baudinet, So, 6-3, 180 (Watertown, Conn.)
Forward: #15 Branimir Zeko, Jr., 6-8, 235 (Mississauga, Ontario)
Forward: #33 John Tello, So., 6-5, 205 (Ridgefield Park, N.J.)

A Look Back at the First Round: Saint Anselm trailed by double figures late in the first half and by a 35-28 margin at halftime before a tremendous second rally for the 16-point win over American International. Junior Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J.) erupted for 16 second-half points and Thomas Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) was 10-for-11 from the field in the game to lead the Hawks. Carenza finished the game with 20 points. The Hawks nailed 8-of-10 three-pointers in the second period, while shooting 67 percent from the field in the half. On the other end, the Hawks limited AIC to just 34.8 percent shooting from the field.

This Year's Earlier Meeting: Back on January 10, Saint Anselm dropped a convincing 84-57 final at the Dana Center in the lone meeting of the two teams this regular season. Hakeem Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y.) led the team with 19 points, followed by Greg Vetrano (Andover, Mass.) with an 11-point effort. The Hawks shot just 33.3 percent from the field and trailed 44-21 at the halftime break. Five Bentley players finished in double figures, led by 17 points off the bench from Brian Tracey. The Falcons shot 47.1 percent from the field, including 10 three-pointers.

The All-Time Series: Monday's game is the 75th all-time meeting between the two teams, with Bentley holding a 41-33 advantage over the Hawks. In the last 10 meetings, the Falcons hold a 7-3 advantage. The two teams have met in seven of the last eight Northeast-10 Tournaments, including this year's game. The only season since 2001-2002 that the teams have not met in the postseason was the 2007-2008 campaign. In those previous six meetings, Bentley has the 4-2 edge.

House of Pain: Saint Anselm has dropped its last three games at the Dana Center, with those losses coming by an average of 30 points. In the last 12 games in Waltham, the Hawks have posted a 3-9 record. The team's last win in Waltham came in thrilling fashion in the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals on March 2, 2006. The Hawks trailed by eight points with just 7:24 left in the second half before all-time leading scorer Matt Cahill sent the game to overtime with a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of regulation. Current assistant coach Jimmy Moore '06 took the opening tip and converted an easy layup for the Hawks' first lead of the game, en route to a 96-82 romp over the Falcons, as the Hawks claimed their second-straight Northeast-10 Tournament title.

All-Conference Accolades: Sophomore Thomas Baudinet was honored by the Northeast-10 Conference as a Third Team All-Conference selection, as voted by the league's head coaches. Baudinet is the team's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, as Baudinet has ranked among the league's top five scorers all season. Baudinet has scored 20 or more points on 12 occasions this year. Through 45 career games, Baudinet now has 745 career points, averaging 16.6 points per contest. Baudinet was named as the Northeast-10 Player of the Week once earlier this season and was named the league's weekly honor roll nine times.

Al Grenert Court: On Saturday, February 21st, the Saint Anselm Department of Athletics dedicated the basketball floor at Stoutenburgh Gym as Al Grenert Court. Al Grenert was the head coach of the Saint Anselm men's basketball program from 1949-1971, picking up over 300 wins during his 22-year career. The court now features a pair of eight-foot wide logos bearing Grenert's name.