MANCHESTER, N.H. – Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) posted a career-high 26 points as Southern New Hampshire University downed The College of Saint Rose 79-59 in Northeast-10 men's basketball Saturday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen, who are ranked No. 8 in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll, improve to 7-2 and 6-1 in the NE-10, while the Golden Knights stand 4-5 and 2-3 in the league.

Bonsignore finished 10-14 from the floor, including a 4-7 effort behind the arc.  Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) was 7-12 and totaled 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Phillip Tripodakis (Athens, Greece) added nine points off the bench.

Saint Rose was led by Max Weaver's 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Anthony Russell tallied 12 points off the bench.

Southern New Hampshire never trailed, opening up a 16-4 lead eight minutes into the game following a Bonsignore three, and another Bonsignore triple at the 10:12 mark gave the hosts their largest lead of the first half, 19-6.  Saint Rose used a 12-3 run to get the lead down to three, 28-25, on a Chris Dorgler layup with 2:20 to go, but the Penmen closed the frame on a 9-2 string, and a Bonsignore three as time wound down put SNHU on top 37-27 at the break.

The hosts put the game away over the first 4:28 of the second half, outscoring Saint Rose 13-3 to open up a 50-30 lead.  Southern New Hampshire maintained a comfortable double-digit advantage the rest of the way, leading by as many as 29 down the stretch.

Southern New Hampshire shot 53.6% over the final 20 minutes and 50% (30-60) for the game while also knocking down 12-15 free throw attempts.  The Penmen, who held a 42-28 rebounding advantage, limited Saint Rose to 37.3% shooting for the game.

SNHU closes out the first semester next Saturday when it hosts LIU Post in a 1:00 non-league tilt at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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