Box Score MANCHESTER, N.H. – Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) led four Southern New Hampshire University players in double figures with 21 points as the Penmen downed Bentley University 74-67 in Northeast-10 men's basketball Tuesday evening at the SNHU Fieldhouse. SNHU improved to 3-1 and 2-1 in league play with the victory, while the Falcons are now 1-4 and 0-3 in the league.
Sanders finished 9-15 from the floor and also grabbed five rebounds as he led the Penmen in scoring for the third straight game. Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) had a career-best 10 points while dishing out five assists. Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Keegan Hyland led Bentley with 16 points, but was just 5-16 from the floor. Tyler McFarland recorded 15 points, all in the second half, including the 1,000th of his career, while Brandon Wheeler tallied 10 points off the bench.
Southern New Hampshire utilized an 11-1 run capped by back-to-back baskets by Oliveira to build a 64-56 lead with just over six minutes remaining. Bentley battled back with seven straight points, and back-to-back McFarland baskets including a three at the 3:43 mark made it a 64-63 game.
The Penmen held the Falcons off the scoreboard for the next three-plus minutes to open a 71-63 lead with 35 seconds left following a BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) free throw. Ferguson Duke snapped the scoring drought for the guests on the next possession. SNHU turned it over on its next possession and Hyland had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but his three-point attempt was off the mark.
The hosts closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room, but a 12-2 Bentley run over the first four minutes of the second half gave it a 45-40 advantage. A 7-2 spurt capped by a Sanders layup tied the game 47-47 with 13:26 left, and the Penmen took the lead for good on a Phillip Tripodakis (Athens, Greece) trifecta with 11:26 to go that made it 56-55.
SNHU opened a 19-9 lead just over eight minutes into the game and held a 24-16 cushion with 7:19 left when the Falcons outscored the Penmen 13-3 to take a 29-27 lead with 3:47 left before the break on two Wheeler free throws. A Max Taylor (Shokan, N.Y.) three with 46 seconds left gave SNHU the lead back and a Sanders basket as time expired made it 38-33 at intermission.
Southern New Hampshire shot 50% in the opening 20 minutes and 47.5% for the game while limiting the guests to 38.1% shooting, including a 7-23 effort behind the arc. The Penmen held a 43-32 rebounding advantage, but went just 9-15 at the free throw line while Bentley was 12-15 at the stripe.
SNHU returns to action Sunday when it travels to Philadelphia to face Holy Family University in a 3:00 contest.
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