Men's Basketball Snaps Skid, Bests Saint Rose, 66-55

SMC ends three-game slide, lands four scorers in double figures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Seth Cole - Phone: 802.654.2537

Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/mstrstm.htm.  

Photos (taken by Shane Bufano): http://www.shanebufano.com/Sports/SMC-Winter-2010-2011/SMCvsStRose-1-5-11mbb

Senior Chris Hurley drives to the hoop in SMC's 66-55 win versus Saint Rose on Wednesday (pic by Shane Bufano).

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team (4-7, 2-5 Northeast-10 Conference) snapped a three-game losing skid with a 66-55 victory versus the College of Saint Rose in league action on Wednesday at the Vincent C. Ross Sports Center.

For the Purple Knights, freshman Michael Holton, Jr. (Portland, Ore./Sunset/The Winchendon School) led a balanced scored attack with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half, despite making just 3-of-16 shots from the field. Sophomore Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) scored all 13 of his points after halftime, draining 5-of-6 shots from the floor. Senior Nate Birr (Burnsville, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy) recorded 11 points and a game-high seven assists and three steals, while sophomore Derek Knutty (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney) added 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench as the Purple Knights forced 24 Saint Rose turnovers.

For Saint Rose (9-4, 4-4 NE-10), junior Brian Hanuschak (Cumberland, R.I.) recorded a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds, making 7-of-9 shots from the field. Junior Rob Gutierrez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 points and five rebounds as the Golden Knights lost to Saint Michael's for the first time since February 21, 2006, and the first time at the Ross Sports Center since December 13, 2003.

Neither team was strong offensively in the first half, a period which ended with Saint Michael's ahead 27-19. Saint Rose recorded as many turnovers (17) as it did field goal attempts in the first half, while shooting just 35 percent from the field. Saint Michael's wasn't much better from the field in the opening period (38 percent, 12-of-32), but took better care of the basketball to nudge ahead at the break.

Saint Michael's pushed its lead to double digits, 32-21, following a Warech 3-pointer early in the second half. The Purple Knights still led by 10 points, 45-35, with 9:55 to go, but Saint Rose then went on an 8-2 run to pull to within 47-43 with 8:15 left. However, another Warech 3-pointer triggered a 15-5 run for Saint Michael's, giving the hosts its biggest lead of the game at 62-48 with 2:05 remaining, and helping the Purple Knights improved to 3-2 at home this season. 

Both teams return to conference action on Saturday, with Saint Michael's visiting Le Moyne College at 3 p.m, and Saint Rose hosting Franklin Pierce University at 3:30 p.m.

-PURPLEKNIGHTS-