PREVIEW: Sixth-Seeded SNHU Hosts Saint Rose in NE-10 Men's Hoop Semis
No. 6 SNHU (17-10)
vs.
No. 10 Saint Rose (15-13)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - 7:00 pm
SNHU Fieldhouse - Manchester, N.H.
Northeast-10 Championship - Semifinal
THE MATCHUP: Southern New Hampshire hosts Saint Rose Wednesday night as it is in the Northeast-10 semifinals for the first time since 2009.
TICKETS: Ticket prices, as set by the Northeast-10, are $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for students and seniors and $1.00 for students of any Northeast-10 institution with valid ID. SNHU students will be admitted free courtesy of the SNHU Student Government Association.
THE COACHES: Stan Spirou is in his 28th season as head coach at Southern New Hampshire...he owns a 539-289 (.651) career record in 27-plus seasons at the helm...Spirou was honored as the New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year four times (1993, 94, 95, 99) and has led the Penmen to 14 NCAA Tournaments, four NCAA Regional titles and fourteen 20 win seasons...Brian Beaury is in his 27th season as head coach at Saint Rose...Beaury has compiled a 561-259 (.684) record and guided the Golden Knights to 12 NCAA Tournament berths and three NCAA Regional titles.
THE SERIES:Southern New Hampshire and Saint Rose have met 28 times, with each school winning 14 times...earlier this season in Manchester the Penmen posted a 71-55 win...the hosts jumped out to a 39-24 halftime lead and knocked down 12 of their 28 three-point attempts...Mike Stys had a career-high 20 points, while Rodney Sanders finished with 11 points and six assists...Dominykas Milka led Saint Rose with 17 points on 7-14 shooting.
Southern New Hampshire is 6-1 against Saint Rose in the postseason. The Penmen have compiled a 2-1 mark against the Golden Knights in NCAA Tournament play and are 4-0 in the Northeast-10 Tournament. The last postseason meeting occured in 2010, when the 11th-seeded Penmen upset the No. 6 seed Golden Knights 84-77 in Albany.
THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire has won four in a row and is coming off a 79-75 upset of third-seeded New Haven in the Northeast-10 quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon...the Penmen are making their first NE-10 Championship appearance since the 2009-10 season...an extremely balanced Penmen offense is led by junior Mike Stys, sophomore BJ Cardarelli and freshman Rodney Sanders...Stys has knocked down a team-best 52 three-pointers and is averaging 12.0 ppg, while Cardarelli and Sanders are adding 11.7 ppg and 11.6 ppg, respectively...Cardarelli has made 45 threes on the season...Sanders ranks second in the NE-10 in three-point field goal percentage (43.2%) and was named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team on Thursday...Elijah Bonsignore has a team-high 42 blocked shots and is averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 5.1 rebounds per game, while Aleksandar Dobrovic is adding 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game...CJ Marriro has a team-best 86 assists and is recording 7.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game...SNHU is shooting .410 overall, .347 behind the arc and .684 at the free throw line while opponents are shooting .423 overall and .316 from three...the Penmen are scoring 66.2 ppg while allowing 64.8 and getting outrebounded 36.7-34.9.
THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Saint Rose, after earning the 10th and final Northeast-10 playoff spot, has advanced to the semifinals with wins at No. 7 Adelphi (67-57) and No. 2 Assumption (67-64)...the Golden Knights last appeared in the NE-10 semifinals in 2011 and are seeking their first trip to the final since 2007...Saint Rose is led by NE-10 First Team performer Dominykas Milka...Milka is shooting 50.1% from the floor and is averaging 17.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game...Andre Pope has knocked down 42 three-pointers and is averaging 12.0 ppg, while NE-10 All-Rookie Team member Tyler Sayre is also averaging 12.0 ppg...Dan Mundweiler has connected on a team-high 51 threes and is scoring at an 8.5 ppg clip...Saint Rose is shooting .432 overall, .315 from three and .745 at the free throw line while opponents are shooting .433 overall and .338 from three...the Golden Knights are scoring 66.8 ppg while allowing 65.9 and outrebounding foes 35.4-34.2.
