MANCHESTER, N.H. – In the first of two non-conference games in the state of New Hampshire, the Caldwell College men's basketball team lost to St. Anselm College, 70-56 Wednesday night at Stoutenburgh Gym. The Cougars, who play at Franklin Pierce College on Thursday, fall to 6-4 on the season, while the Hawks improve to 7-3.
 
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, combining to make just 16 field goals in 51 attempts. The Hawks took advantage of a Caldwell scoreless streak that lasted almost nine minutes to grab a 23-11 lead with 2:35 left in the first half. But the Cougars closed out the half with a 9-3 run, capped by three-pointers from junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) and junior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship), that made the score 26-20 at the half.

St. Anselm started the second half with the hot hand. Giovanni Carenza and Chris Vetrano each hit a pair of threes to spark a 16-2 run over the first four minutes of the half and take a 44-22 advantage. The Cougars answered with an 18-9 run of their own to cut the deficit to 11, 51-40 at the 7:39 mark. But they would get no closer, as the Hawks closed out their fifth straight victory and the second win in three seasons over Caldwell.

The game featured two coaches with a combined 815 victories in their careers. Caldwell's Mark Corino has 416 wins in his 24-year career, while Keith Dickson earned his 399th win in his 21st season. Dickson goes for No. 400 on Dec. 22 against Pace University.

Suchy finished with a team-high 14 points and seven boards, with Wise tallying 12 points. Freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) grabbed a team-best eight boards to go with nine points. Vetrano led all scorers with 20 points for St. Anselm, which forced 28 Caldwell turnovers while giving the ball away just 10 times.
 
Caldwell returns to the court on Thursday, Dec. 21, when they play at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.