NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – JT Strickland paced four Merrimack College players in double figures with 15 points as the Warriors downed Southern New Hampshire University 80-58 in Northeast-10 men's basketball Saturday afternoon at Hammel Court.  The Warriors improve to 4-6 and 2-4 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 5-3 and 3-3 in the league.

Strickland added seven assists and six rebounds to lead Merrimack.  Troy Hammel finished 11-11 from the free throw line and totaled 13 points while Anthony Barry totaled 12 points and five rebounds.  Tyler Young narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) led Southern New Hampshire with a season-best 20 points, knocking down three three-pointers and going 6-10 from the floor.  Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) finished with nine points, while Mike Stys (Hooksett, N.H.) and Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) added eight points apiece.

SNHU held a 19-13 lead 7:24 into the contest before the Warriors used a 13-2 run to build a 26-21 lead 7:47 before intermission on a three by Ryan Woumn.  Merrimack closed out the first half on a 9-0 run and took a 41-30 lead into the locker room as Hammel made three free throws with no time on the clock as he was fouled on a three-point attempt.

Southern New Hampshire got the lead down to nine three times, the last on a Dobrovic layup with 11:13 left that made it 55-46, but Merrimack took control in the second half with a 15-1 run capped by a pair of Kevin Regan free throws with just under nine minutes to play that made it 70-47. 

The hosts shot 47.3% for the contest while limiting Southern New Hampshire to 33.9% shooting.  Merrimack converted 23 of its 26 chances at the free throw line while the Penmen were 11-23 at the stripe.  The Warriors held a 41-31 rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire is idle until next Saturday when it hosts New York Institute of Technology in a 1:00 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  Fans who bring non-perishable food items, as well as other items to benefit New Horizons for New Hampshire, will receive free admission to that afternoon's contest.