BOX
SCORE
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Junior Cory
Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) hit a three-pointer at the end of
regulation to force overtime as Southern New Hampshire University
posted a 72-69 victory over the University of Bridgeport in men's
basketball action Sunday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
The game was the season opener for both schools. Bridgeport
posted a 22-9 record and earned an NCAA Tournament berth last
season.
Marcus Matthews
(Valley Stream, N.Y.) led a balanced Penmen attack with 13 points,
going 7-12 at the free throw line. Stephen
Wood (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y.) totaled 12 points, eight
rebounds and four steals, while freshman Greg
DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) had 11 points and five assists
in his collegiate debut. Vejraska and Hanell
Velez (Woburn, Mass.) each finished with eight points.
Jermaine Washington led all scorers
with 23 points for Bridgeport, while Steve Martin totaled 17 points
and eight rebounds, while Dave Boykin added 12 points.
After leading by as many as nine
points in the second half, the Penmen found themselves down 65-64
with 31 seconds left in regulation after Lee Frazier sank two at
the line. A shot attempt by SNHU's Tory
Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) was off the mark, but the Penmen
retained possession. After a timeout, the Penmen threw the
ball away and were forced to foul Martin, who sank a pair of free
throws to make it a 67-64 game with 6.7 seconds remaining.
With no timeouts, SNHU raced down
to take a three, but a shot from the right corner by Billy
Marsden (Pelham, N.H.) was blocked by Frazier with two
seconds left. On the inbounds, DeSantis found Vejraska, who
had shaken a Purple Knight defender, free in the left corner, and
he knocked down the trifecta to force overtime.
Scoring was limited in the extra
frame as the Penmen outscored the Purple Knights 5-2. SNHU
took a 70-67 lead with 2:19 left on a fast break layup by Velez and
went up 72-67 with 20 seconds left on a pair of Matthews free
throws. Bridgeport had one final chance to tie it, but a
three attempt by Boykin was off the mark. Bridgeport missed
all nine of its shots from the floor in overtime.
Southern New Hampshire led 60-53
with just over eight minutes to play following a Stapleton
basket. Bridgeport scored the game's next eight points to
take a 61-60 lead with 4:09 left on a layup by Tim Cokley.
The two teams would then trade the lead four times, with DeSantis
converting a layup with 2:25 on the clock to make it 62-61.
Boykin responded 19 seconds later to reclaim a one point Bridgeport
lead, but Vejraska would make it 65-64 with 51 seconds to go when
he made a layup off a DeSantis feed.
The first half saw nine lead
changes, but the Penmen would use a 16-6 stretch capped by a three
by Josh Morgan-Green (Upper Marlboro, Md.) to
build a 37-35 lead 2:16 before intermission. Bridgeport would
close the half with a 6-1 spurt and a Martin layup 16 seconds
before intermission closed the hosts' lead to seven, 38-31.
Southern New Hampshire shot a
blistering 63.6% (14-22) in the first half and 50.9% for the game,
while limiting the Purple Knights to 33.3% shooting for the
contest. The Penmen were able to overcome an 11-22 effort at
the free throw line as well as being outrebounded by Bridgeport
44-37, including a 22-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
SNHU opens Northeast-10 play on
Wednesday night when it hosts Saint Anselm College in a 7:30
contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
