Vetrano runner with eight-seconds left lifts Hawks to quarterfinal battle with top-seeded Bentley on Monday

RINDGE, N.H. (February 24, 2007) - Ninth-seeded Saint Anselm College edged eighth-seeded Franklin Pierce, 66-65, in first round action of the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball championships, presented by Anaconda Sports, at the Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Saint Anselm (15-13, 10-12 NE-10) advances to face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Bentley College, in Waltham, Mass., for a quarterfinal round match up on Monday at 7 p.m. Franklin Pierce sees its season come to a close at 13-14 overall (11-11 NE-10).

Junior Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass./Andover), a transfer from Division I New Hampshire, led Saint Anselm with a game-high 19 points (13 second half) and his runner with eight-seconds to play proved to be the game-winning basket. Franklin Pierce senior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) had a shot at the end for his fifth game-winning basket of the year and second in two weeks against the Hawks, but his attempt from just inside the three-point arc was just off the mark.           

Vetrano hit 7-of-15 shots from the field, including 5-9 from three-point range, and added three assists and two rebounds. Freshman Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J./St. Anthony's) added 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 20 minutes before fouling out late in regulation. Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavarian) totaled 11 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots, while sophomore Matt Mulcahy (Brookfield, Wis./Marquette University HS) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds (seven offensive) to go with eight points and two blocks.

Saint Anselm shot 47.2-percent (25-for-53) from the field, including 55% (11-20) in the first half, and connected on 6-of-19 (31.6%) three-point attempts. Franklin Pierce shot 37.7% (26-69) on the day, including 30.8% (12-39) in the first half, and hit 35% (7-20) if its three-point attempts. The Hawks out-rebounded the Ravens 42-37 and posted a 20-12 advantage on second-chance points (18-10 in the second half).

Senior Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) led Franklin Pierce with 18 points (one shy of his career-best) in his final collegiate contest as he hit 8-of-16 shots from the field, including 2-3 three-pointers, in 25 minutes off the bench. He also totaled four rebounds and two assists. Classmate Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) capped his collegiate career with his fifth double-double of the season (seventh career), adding 12 points, ten rebounds (seven offensive) and two assists. Sophomore Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) finished with ten points, three rebounds and three steals, while Minnifield capped his career with eight points, eight rebounds and four steals.            

Despite shooting just 30.8% (12-for-39) from the field, Franklin Pierce took a two-point lead into the locker room (31-29) after trailing by as much as eight (18-10) at the 11:55-mark of the opening half and not scoring over the opening 4:25 of the contest. In fact, a six-minute Saint Anselm drought helped the Ravens turn that eight-point deficit into a three-point lead (21-18) after a Minnifield layup, sparking an 18-5 run overall that put the hosts up five (28-23) after a Munch three with 2:57 left in the half.

Saint Anselm opened the second half with nine-straight points, capped by a Vetrano three, to regain its seven-point lead (38-31) 3:11 in. A 10-1 Franklin Pierce run put the Ravens back in front (43-41) after a Craig Shepherd (Grantham, N.H./Trinity) three with 13:29 to play.

The Ravens answered a Vetrano three with 9:40 left with a Mayo put back and Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) three to match their largest lead of the contest (56-51) with 8:52 left. The Hawks rallied with a 9-2 spurt to take the lead back (60-58) on a Vetrano three after collecting three offensive boards (two by Mulcahy) with 6:31 to play.

Munch drained a three to put Franklin Pierce back up (63-62) with 3:39 left, but that would prove to be the Ravens final field goal of the contest. Carenza scored a layup for Saint Anselm with 2:13 to go, but the Ravens answered with two Minnifield free-throws (65-64) with just under a minute to play.

Carenza turned the ball over with 46-seconds left and sophomore Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) went to the line with 34-seconds remaining. Barrett missed the front end of the one-and-one and Vetrano missed a three-pointer with 14-seconds, but Franklin Pierce could not control the rebound, giving the Hawks another chance. Vetrano drove the lane this time and his runner from the right side fell through with eight-seconds left to send the two-time defending NE-10 Tournament champs into the quarterfinal round.

BOXSCORE