COLCHESTER, Vt. – Travis Warech finished with 17 points as Saint Michael's College held off Southern New Hampshire University for a 74-68 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the Ross Sports Center.  The Purple Knights improve to 3-4 and 1-3 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 2-4 and 0-4 in the league.

Warech finished 6-12 from the floor and pace four Purple Knights in double figures.  Michael Holton, Jr. totaled 14 points and five rebounds, while Tyler Schilling added 12 points and seven rebounds.  Nate Birr recorded 11 points and five assists for Saint Michael's.

Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) led Southern New Hampshire with 19 points and 11 rebounds, going 7-11 from the floor.  Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) added 15 points and five rebounds, while Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) went 5-5 at the free throw line and scored 11 points.  Marcus Matthews (Valley Stream, N.Y.) finished with 10 points.

Neither team led by more than four points for much of the first half, and a pair of free throws by Matthews with 3:28 left before halftime gave Southern New Hampshire a 23-22 lead.  The Purple Knights would close out the half on a 12-2 run and a Derek Knutty basket 32 seconds before intermission gave Saint Michael's a 34-25 halftime lead.

Saint Michael's would open up a 51-38 lead with just over 10 minutes to play following a basket by Warech and took its largest lead, 54-40, with 8:06 left on a Hurley basket.  SNHU would use a 6-0 spurt to pull within eight, 54-46, with just over six minutes to play on a three-pointer by Billy Marsden (Pelham, N.H.).  The Penmen would pull within five four times, including twice in the game's final minute, but would get no closer.

Saint Michael's shot 57.7% in the first half and 53.2% from the field for the contest while the Penmen shot 43.1% for the game.  Southern New Hampshire held a 30-26 rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Saturday when it hosts Stonehill College in a 3:30 contest.