MANCHESTER, N.H. – Lucas Croteau (Rochester, N.H.) and Josh Morgan-Green (Upper Marlboro, Md.) each totaled 20 points as Southern New Hampshire University completed a season sweep of Merrimack College with an 82-62 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse. The Penmen wrap up their season 11-15 overall and 7-15 in the Northeast-10, while the Warriors are now 13-13 and 9-13 in the league.
Morgan-Green connected on five of his nine three-point attempts and also grabbed six rebounds, while Croteau finished 7-14 overall and 3-6 behind the arc. Senior Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) finished with 15 points and a career-best 14 rebounds in his final collegiate game, while Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) totaled 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Darin Mency led all scorers with 27 points for Merrimack, including his 2,000th career point. Mency knocked down seven of his 19 three-point attempts. Wayne Mack totaled 13 points while Tyler Young added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.
SNHU trailed just once, at 2-0, and opened up a 16-9 lead eight minutes into the game following a layup by Nikola Canic (Belgrade, Serbia). The Penmen took their largest lead of the first half, 27-17, on a conventional three-point play by Morgan-Green with 7:21 left before halftime. A Mack three pulled the Warriors within five, 32-27, with just over two minutes to go, but the Penmen would take a 37-30 lead into the locker room.
The hosts would gradually pull away and a three by Croteau with 9:56 remaining gave Southern New Hampshire a 62-44 lead. Merrimack would chip away and a three by Mency with just under six minutes to go made it a 68-56 game, but the Penmen ran off nine unanswered points and a basket by Vejraska with 4:12 to go made it 77-56. SNHU held at least a 17-point lead the rest of the way.
Southern New Hampshire connected on a season-high 13 three-pointers, going 13-29 behind the arc, while holding Merrimack to just 34.8% shooting for the contest, including a 9-33 effort from three. The Penmen also took nine more trips to the free throw line, going 11-15 while the Warriors were 5-6. SNHU also held a 41-38 rebounding advantage.
