EASTON, Mass. – Mike Stys (Hooksett, N.H.) and Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) each finished with 17 points as Southern New Hampshire University pulled out a 71-65 win at Stonehill College Wednesday night in Northeast-10 men's basketball.  The Penmen, who are ranked No. 7 in the East Region, snapped a two-game slide to improve to 14-10 overall and 10-10 in the NE-10, while the Skyhawks are now 11-13 and 7-13 in the league.

The win gives SNHU its first regular-season sweep of Stonehill since the 2003-04 season.

Stys went 5-5 at the free throw line and connected on four of his six three-point attempts, while Bonsignore was 7-9 from the floor and also registered eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.  BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) drained a pair of three-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) added nine points and four assists.

Jack Cole led four Stonehill players in double figures with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Josh Heyliger also totaled 16 points.  Adam Fazzini was 4-4 behind the arc and recorded 15 points, while Brian Hamor added 13 points.

Southern New Hampshire led 29-27 at halftime and 35-27 four minutes into the second before Stonehill reeled off 13 unanswered points and took a 40-37 lead on a Heyliger layup with 12:10 remaining.  The Skyhawks extended their lead to 45-39 at the 9:23 mark on Hamor's layup.

The Penmen trailed 55-51 with 5:53 remaining when they used an 8-1 run to take a 59-56 lead with 4:13 left on a Bonsignore layup.  Cole cut the lead to one on the next Stonehill possession, but Stys responded with a three to give SNHU a 62-58 lead with 3:10 left.  The Skyhawks scored the game's next four points to tie the game on a pair of Hamor free throws with 2:22 to go.

Bonsignore gave Southern New Hampshire the lead for good on a layup with 2:02 left, and the Penmen extended the lead to 67-62 with 19 seconds left after Bonsignore made 1-of-2 at the line.  Hamor gave Stonehill a last gasp with a long three with 10 seconds to go to make it 67-65, but SNHU made its final four free throws to seal the win.

Stonehill scored the game's first seven points, but a 14-5 run capped by a Stys three 9:22 before halftime gave the Penmen their first lead of the game, 14-12.  The lead changed hands five times before a Dobrovic three at the 6:25 mark put SNHU on top 20-18.  The guests led by as many as six in the first half and took a 29-27 lead into intermission.

SNHU shot 54.5% in the second half and 50% for the game while the Skyhawks were 54.2% over the final 20 minutes and 45.7% for the game.  SNHU was 8-19 from three while Stonehill was 8-20, but the Penmen took seven more trips to the free throw line, going 17-27 while the hosts were 15-20 at the charity stripe.  Stonehill held a 31-28 rebounding advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns home Saturday when it hosts Merrimack College in a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  Saturday's game marks the annual "Penmen Pink Day" for breast cancer awareness, with fans wearing pink receiving free admission to that afternoon's doubleheader.