COLCHESTER, Vt. – Freshman Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) finished with 18 points as Southern New Hampshire University pulled away from Saint Michael's College for a 62-46 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the Ross Sports Center.  The Penmen improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005-06 and 1-0 in the NE-10, while the game was the season opener for the Purple Knights.

Sanders finished 4-5 behind the arc and 7-13 overall while also registering six rebounds and four steals.  Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) totaled 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, while C.J. Marriro (Boston, Mass.) notched 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.  Mike Stys (Hooksett, N.H.) and B.J. Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) added eight points apiece.

Mike Thompson was the lone Purple Knight in double figures as he finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.  Mike Holton, Jr., the second-leading scorer in the Northeast-10 a season ago, was held to just one field goal and six points on the night.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 19-12 midway through the first half and 25-20 following a Derek Knutty layup with 3:15 left before intermission.  Sanders closed the half on a personal 9-0 run, knocking down three straight three-pointers to give the Penmen a 29-25 halftime advantage.

Saint Michael's scored the first five points of the second half and took a 30-29 lead with 19 minutes to go on a Knutty basket, but the Penmen took the lead for good on a Cardarelli three with 17:29 remaining in the contest.  A layup by Kostas Mantalvanos (Athens, Greece) with 13:29 left capped a 12-3 run and gave the guests a 40-32 lead.

A three by Phillip Tripodakis (Athens, Greece) with 10:44 to go extended SNHU's lead to 45-33.  Saint Michael's would get within seven twice, the last time on a Dom Ditlefsen trifecta with just over five minutes left that made it 49-42, but Southern New Hampshire closed out the game on a 13-4 run to account for the final score.

SNHU connected on 11 of its 24 three-point attempts and shot 43.9% overall while the Purple Knights were held to 35.6% shooting for the contest.  Saint Michael's took 15 more trips to the free throw line and were 10-17 at the line while the Penmen were 1-2 at the stripe.  SNHU committed just five turnovers and had a 14-5 advantage in points off turnovers, negating the hosts' 37-30 rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Tuesday, November 20 when it heads to crosstown rival Saint Anselm College for a 7:30 Northeast-10 contest.