MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) led four Southern New Hampshire University players in double figures with 19 points as it posted a 69-63 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over UMass Lowell Sunday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen won their third straight to improve to 8-3 and 4-3 in the NE-10, while the River Hawks now stand 8-3 and 4-3 in league play.

Sanders was 7-10 from the floor as he finished one point shy of his season high.  Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) and Mike Stys (Hooksett, N.H.) each tallied 16 points, with Dobrovic going 8-12 at the free throw line and Stys 7-8.  BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) was also 7-8 at the charity stripe as he added 13 points.

Antonio Bivins totaled a game-high 23 points for UMass Lowell, going 9-10 from the floor and 5-6 at the free throw line.  Greg DeSantis tallied 13 points, while Chad Holley added 11 points.

In a game that saw nine lead changes and eight ties, Southern New Hampshire used a late 8-0 run to take control of the game.  The Penmen took the lead for good with 3:44 left on a fast-break layup by Sanders that made it 56-55.  Dobrovic capped the run with a basket at the 1:05 mark to give the Penmen a 62-55 lead.  The hosts sealed the victory by going 7-8 at the free throw line in the final 43 seconds.

After the game was tied 27-27 at halftime, SNHU led much of the second half, eking out a pair of six-point leads, the latest coming on a pair of free throws by Cardarelli at the 11:44 mark that made it 45-39.  UMass Lowell used a 12-5 run to take its first lead of the second half, 51-50, with just under eight minutes left on a Bivins tip-in, and extended the lead to 53-50 at the 7:34 mark on a DJ Mlachnik layup.

Neither side led by more than five points in the first half.  Southern New Hampshire opened a 12-7 lead 4:26 into the game following a three by Phillip Tripodakis (Athens, Greece).  UMass Lowell scored the next six points to take a 13-12 lead at the 13:40 mark on a Bivins basket.  The Penmen opened it back up to five, 20-15, with 9:31 left.  Stys sank a pair at the line with 25 seconds left to knot the game 27-27 at the break.

Southern New Hampshire took 23 more trips to the free throw line, going 28-39 at the charity stripe while the River Hawks were 11-16.  UMass Lowell shot 55.6% in the second half and 50% for the game while the Penmen shot just 540%, but SNHU made five three-pointers and UML just two.  The hosts outrebounded the River Hawks 32-28, including an 11-6 offensive rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Wednesday night when it travels to Le Moyne College in a 7:30 Northeast-10 contest.  The next Penmen home game is Saturday, January 12 when SNHU hosts Assumption College in a 3:30 tilt at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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