BOX SCORE

WORCESTER, Mass. - Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) totaled 22 points to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 74-60 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over Assumption College at Laska Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.  The Penmen, who are ranked No. 9 in the East Region, won their fourth straight to improve to 13-7 overall and 8-7 in the NE-10, while the Greyhounds are 10-10 and 7-8 in the league.

Stapleton, who finished with a season high in the scoring column, was 10-10 at the free throw line and 6-10 from the floor in just 22 minutes of action.  Marcus Matthews (Valley Stream, N.Y.) registered 13 points for the Penmen, going 8-12 at the free throw line, while Hanell Velez (Woburn, Mass.) scored all nine of his points in the first half.  Stephen Wood (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y.) totaled eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals, while Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) added seven points.

Savoy Fraine and Courtland Bluford paced a balanced Assumption attack with 12 points apiece, while Mike Baldarelli and Tim Beinert scored 11 points each.  Baldarelli also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Assumption would jump out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the Penmen would take the lead for good on a Matthews three 6:47 into the first half that made it 10-9.  That was part of a 14-4 run that saw SNHU take an 18-11 lead with 10:29 to play in the first half.  The guests used a 6-0 spurt to take a 41-27 lead with 51 seconds left on a pair of DeSantis free throws.  Baldarelli would hit a runner in the lane as time expired to make it a 41-29 game at intermission.

Southern New Hampshire opened the second half on an 11-0 run, and a pair of free throws by Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) with 15:43 to go gave the Penmen their largest lead, 52-29.  Assumption would attempt to climb back in the game, using a 9-0 run to make it 61-50 with 5:28 left on a layup by Fraine, but the Greyhounds would get no closer.

The Penmen made 28 more trips to the free throw line than the Greyhounds, going 26-34 at the charity stripe while Assumption was just 2-6.  Southern New Hampshire shot 53.6% in the first half (15-28) and 46.8% for the game.  The Penmen, who were outrebounded 45-44, blocked a season-high 10 shots.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Wednesday night when it travels to Saint Anselm College for a 7:30 game in a game featuring a pair of regionally-ranked teams.