PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) poured in a career-high 32 points and a layup by Mike Stys (Hooksett, N.H.) with 9.7 seconds left proved to be the difference as Southern New Hampshire University edged Pace University 68-67 in Northeast-10 men's basketball Wednesday night at the Goldstein Center.  The Penmen improve to 11-5 overall and 7-5 in the NE-10, while the Setters are now 8-8 and 5-7 in the league.

Cardarelli finished 9-10 behind the three-point arc and 10-15 overall, shattering his previous career high of 24 points set twice last season.  His nine three-pointers are one shy of the SNHU single-game record of 10 set by Nick Karageorgos against Keene State on February 7, 1996. 

Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) posted a double-double for Southern New Hampshire with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while CJ Marriro (Boston, Mass.) narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.  Stys added eight points.

Jonathan Merceus led Pace with 24 points on 11-18 shooting, while Denzel Primus-Devonish and Kai Smith added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Southern New Hampshire led by as many as eight points in the second half and held a 66-59 lead with 1:49 remaining following a basket by Bonsignore.  Pace made it a 66-61 game with 1:20 left on a pair of Keon Williams free throws, and following a Penmen offensive foul, Primus-Devonish made a layup with 51 seconds to make it a 66-63 game, with Pace calling a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout and facing full-court pressure, SNHU was whistled for a five-second violation.  Williams was fouled and made 1-of-2 at the line to make it 66-64 with 36 seconds left.  On SNHU's next possession, Ahmad George would steal the ball and make a layup with 21.7 seconds left while getting fouled.  George sank the free throw to make it 67-66.

SNHU called timeout and Stys converted a driving layup down the right side to reclaim the lead with 9.7 seconds left.  Pace came down and a layup by Primus-Devonish was off the mark.  Stys came up with the defensive rebound in a scrum on the floor as time expired.

The Penmen led 36-31 at halftime and held a 47-39 lead with 12:45 to go following a Cardarelli triple.  Pace went on an 11-3 run and a basket by Smith with 8:45 to go gave the hosts a 50-49 lead.  The lead was short-lived, as Cardarelli sank a pair of free throw on the next Penmen possession with 8:11 left.  Pace reclaimed the lead 18 seconds later as Merceus converted a conventional three-point play to make it 53-51, but Cardarelli responded with a three-point play of his own on the next SNHU trip, and extended the lead to 57-53 with 7:20 left on his eighth three of the night.

Pace jumped out to a 15-10 lead 6:18 into the game following back-to-back layups by Merceus, but an 11-0 run capped by a Cardarelli trifecta with 9:52 left in the half gave SNHU a 21-15 lead.  The Penmen closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 36-31 lead into the locker room.

Southern New Hampshire outrebounded Pace 41-33 and shot 41.8% overall and 47.6% behind the arc (10-21) while Pace was 41.7% overall but just 5-18 from long range.  The Penmen were 12-14 from the free throw line while the Setters were 12-18.

SNHU returns to action Saturday when it hosts Adelphi University in a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.