January 17, 2009
MBB: EKPERIGIN AND BARNES LEAD DOLPHINS PAST SAINT ANSELM
66-59
Manchester, N.H. - Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin
(Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and senior swingman
Phil Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Clinton
C.C.) each recorded a double-double to lead the Le Moyne
College men's basketball team to a 66-59 victory over Saint Anselm
on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym.
Ekperigin registered a game-high 23 points and career-best 19
rebounds for his 13th double-double and ninth 20-point, 10-rebound
performance of the season. Barnes, making his second consecutive
start, registered career-bests of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St.
Francis) joined Ekperigin and Barnes in posting a
double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. John Tello led the
Hawks with 16 points, while Pat Luptowski added 13 and Greg Vetrano
chipped in with 11. Branimir Zeko registered a team-best 12
rebounds.
Tello drilled a pair of three-pointers and Vetrano hit one of his
own over the first 2:20 of the second half to give the Hawks a
40-35 lead with 17:40 remaining in the contest. Ekperigin hit a
free throw and freshman guard James Cormier (Trumbull,
Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy) connected on consecutive
shots from three-point range as Le Moyne regained the lead with
14:41 left.
After Luptowski hit a jumper and Vetrano converted 1-of-2 foul
shots to give Saint Anselm its final lead of the game, freshman
guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst,
N.Y./Lindenhurst) made a jumpshot to put the Dolphins
ahead for good. The Dolphins used a 10-1 run over four minutes to
push out to a team-high eight-point advantage, capped by a
three-pointer from Barnes.
The Hawks were able to cut their deficit to four points on four
occasions with less than six minutes remaining, but could not get
any closer. Barnes, Ekperigin, Roth and junior guard Durett
Miles (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) each knocked down
free throws in the final minute to close out the contest.
Following an 11-10 Le Moyne lead at the 13:45 mark of the first
half, Saint Anselm scored seven straight points and 12 of the
game's next 13 to take a game-high 10-point lead with 7:46
remaining in the half. Luptowski jumpstarted the run with five
straight points and Tello added a pair of foul shots to cap the
spurt.
The Dolphins answered back with a 19-7 outburst over the final
7:27 of the half to take their first lead since the opening minutes
of the game. The combination of Ekperigin (9), Barnes (8) and Roth
(2) accounted for all 19 points as the Dolphins took a 31-29 lead
at halftime.
Le Moyne (8-9, NE-10 5-8), which snapped a four-game losing streak
and picked up its first conference victory on the road, return to
action on Monday, Jan. 19 at 2:00 p.m. for a non-conference game
against Felician.
-agate-
Le Moyne 66,
Saint Anselm 59
Le Moyne (8-9, NE-10
5-8)
31
35
-
66
Saint Anselm (10-5, NE-10
6-5)
29
30
- 59
