DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Marcus Matthews (Valley Stream, N.Y.) totaled 18 points as Southern New Hampshire University pulled away from Mercy College for an 86-61 non-conference men's basketball victory Saturday afternoon at Mercy College Gymnasium. The Penmen improved to 2-1 on the season with the win, while the Mavericks remain searching for their first win and are now 0-3.
Matthews was 7-7 at the free throw line and 5-11 from the field while also grabbing five rebounds. He led four Penmen in double figures. Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) registered a double-double, going 6-9 from the floor en route to 15 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished with 12 points and seven assists, while Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) added 10 points and five rebounds.
Ed Wilson led Mercy with 20 points while Hasan Powell added 10 points.
With SNHU leading 31-28 at halftime, DeSantis would hit back-to-back threes in the first minute of the second half to put the Penmen up 37-30. Mercy would score the game's next six points to make it 37-36, but the Penmen would go on a 15-2 run to build a 52-38 lead with just under 14 minutes left on a Vejraska layup. The guests took a 56-40 lead on a pair of Matthews free throws with 11:42 to go. Southern New Hampshire maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
SNHU jumped out to a 10-4 lead 4:22 into the game following a basket by Lucas Croteau (Rochester, N.H.), but the Mavericks would use a 15-3 run to take a 19-13 lead with 10:55 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Colin Senior, Mercy's third straight three. The Penmen countered with a 12-2 spurt and a pair of free throws by DeSantis 6:09 before halftime gave Southern New Hampshire a 25-21 lead. SNHU led 31-28 at halftime.
The Penmen shot 55.6% (15-27) in the second half and 49.1% for the game while limiting the Mavericks to just 33.9% from the floor for the afternoon. Southern New Hampshire outrebounded Mercy 47-31 and went 26-35 at the free throw line (74.3%) while the Mavericks went just 13-23 at the charity stripe.
Southern New Hampshire returns to Northeast-10 play Tuesday when it hosts UMass Lowell in a 7:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse. Prior to that game, SNHU head coach Stan Spirou will be honored for reaching the 500-win milestone, which he did November 13 when the Penmen defeated Thomas College 76-65.
