NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Tory Stapleton totaled 17 points to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 70-63 non-conference men's basketball victory over Southern Connecticut State University at Moore Fieldhouse Saturday. The Penmen, who won their second straight, improved to 4-5 on the season, while the Owls, who had won three straight, are now 7-2 on the season.
Stapleton finished 7-13 from the floor and also grabbed five rebounds. Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) was the other Penmen who finished in double figures, totaling 15 points while also registering five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) and Corey Boland (Union, N.J.) chipped in with eight points apiece, while Josh Morgan-Green (Upper Marlboro, Md.) totaled seven points while grabbing nine rebounds.
Trevon Hamlet led Southern Connecticut with a double-double, scoring 14 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Greg Langston also totaled 14 points for the Owls, while Nyheem Sanders added 13 markers.
Southern New Hampshire led wire-to-wire and opened up a 13-4 lead just four minutes into the game when Morgan-Green was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws. The Penmen used an 8-0 run to build a 35-14 lead with 3:47 left before halftime on a basket by Nikola Canic (Belgrade, Serbia). The hosts would close the half on a 12-2 run and a three just before the buzzer by Langston made it a 37-26 game at the break.
The Penmen extended their lead to 14 1:30 into the second half, but the Owls would chip away at the lead and a three by Sanders with 12:50 left made it a 47-42 game. Southern Connecticut made it a one-possession game, 57-54, with five and a half minutes remaining on a basket by Langston.
SNHU used a 7-2 spurt to rebuild an eight-point advantage with 3:23 to go when Stapleton made 1-of-2 at the line. The Owls would get the lead down to two, 65-63, with 46 seconds to go when Sanders made a pair of free throws, but the Penmen would seal the win by going 5-of-6 at the free throw line the rest of the way.
Southern New Hampshire limited the Owls to just 32.4% shooting for the contest while the Penmen were 44% (22-50) from the floor. The guests also generated 13 more trips to the free throw line, going 23-33 while SCSU was just 13-20 at the stripe. Southern Connecticut outrebounded the Penmen 43-41, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
Southern New Hampshire is idle until December 30 when it hosts C.W. Post in a 7:30 non-conference contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
