COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost to perennial regional power Saint Anselm College, 76-67, on Thursday in Northeast-10 Conference play at the Ross Sports Center. The Hawks, who are tied for third in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll, qualified for the last eight NCAA Tournaments.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (5-12, 1-9 NE10), Saint Anselm (11-5, 7-4 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Patrick Gardner (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun/Nassau CC), 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 10-for-20 field goals, 25 minutes
• First-year CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• First-year Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds
• First-year Chuma Oyigbo (Stoughton, Mass./Redemption Christian [N.Y.] Academy), 5 points, 6 assists
• First-year Nic Button (Skaneateles, N.Y./Cheshire Academy), 5 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
• Junior Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School), 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2-for-2 field goals

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Miles Tention, 19 points, 3 assists, 5-for-9 three-pointers
• Senior Alonzo Jackson, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks
• Junior Tyler Arbuckle, 12 points, 9 assists
• Senior Chris Paul, 10 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists
• Sophomore Matt Becker, 9 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's played its third straight regionally-ranked foe.
• The Purple Knights committed only eight turnovers while forcing 13 Saint Anselm giveaways, and held a 38-26 lead on paint points.
• Gardner collected his 11th double-double.
• With 44 blocks this season, Gardner is seventh in program history, with the most rejections since Michel Bonebo '90 turned in a school-record 116 in 1989-90.
• Crews scored at least 17 points for the third straight game after not reaching that plateau in his first 14 games.

THE ACTION

• Button's three-pointer at 18:28 of the opening half pushed the Saint Michael's lead to 5-0, and Gardner twice countered Hawk ties with go-ahead baskets, including at 15:00 (9-7).
• Arbuckle and Tention each hit a three during a 13-2 response, putting Saint Anselm up 20-11 by 10:45.
• Gorham scored four points and Crews made three free throws to spark a 10-2 run before Ogiybo's triple pushed the Purple Knights in front at 23-22 by the 5:57 mark.
• Junior Matt Relihan responded with a corner three 13 seconds later, as the teams played through four lead changes down the stretch.
• Saint Anselm led by as much as 30-23 at 3:45, but Crews netted five straight points before Oyigbo capped a 9-0 run with a transition lay-up with 1:10 left.
• The Hawks used an 8-0 run that bridged halftime to push into a 38-32 lead on Arbuckle's basket at 18:31 of the second half.
• Crews' floater trimmed the deficit to 39-38 at 16:41, but Saint Anselm slowly built its lead to 11, leading 57-46 on Tention's trey at 8:43.
• Only 38 seconds later, the Purple Knights were within six points, after Gardner's lay-in and Crews' triple, but Saint Anselm extended its lead back to 11 points twice.
• The Purple and Gold again rallied within six points, on three different occasions, including after Gardner's basket at 2:13 had his team down 73-67.
• Tention knocked down a three 16 seconds later, and the teams combined to miss the final six field goals of the game.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Monday vs. regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce University, 7:30 p.m.
• The Ravens were 10th in this week's D2SIDA East Region Media Poll.