BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH STAN SPIROU

When and Where: November 6, 2015 – College Park, Md. (XFINITY Center)
Score: University of Maryland 91, Southern New Hampshire University 55

Senior BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) and junior Chris Walters (Stamford, Conn.) scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, but the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team opened its season with a 91-55 exhibition loss to Division I and Big Ten foe, the University of Maryland, on Friday night in front of 13,598 fans at the XFINITY Center.

Cardarelli, who poured in 11 points in the first half, shot 5 of 10 from the floor, including 2 of 6 from beyond the arc, and made his only free throw attempt. Walters shot just 2-for-10 from the field, but went 7-for-11 from the line, pulled down eight rebounds and collected three steals.

Diamond Stone paced five Maryland scorers in double figures with 16 points, while Robert Carter added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Terrapins jumped out to a 19-6 lead over the first 6:12 of the game as Stone and Jake Layman each tossed in six points, but the Penmen hung tough and ripped off a 9-0 run that featured a Cardarelli trey and a Walters dunk, to trim their deficit to 19-15 midway through the opening half.

The margin was five when seven straight Maryland points, including the final four from Melo Trimble, pushed the lead back into double digits at 28-16 with 5:25 remaining. An 8-2 run – with five points from Layman – opened up a 39-23 lead for the hosts until Cardarelli canned another 3 with 46 seconds left. Maryland would take a 40-26 lead into the break.

Three straight points from Carter, followed by four from Stone, opened the second-half scoring and stretched the Terrapin lead to 47-26 just 3:20 in. With the margin at 20 nearly eight minutes later, seven straight points ran the Maryland advantage to 71-44 with 7:55 on the clock.

A three-point play from Walters would halt the run, but Maryland would close the game with a 14-3 surge that brought the score to its final resting place.

Senior Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) scored nine points (3-10 FG, 3-7 3-FG), with all of them coming in the second half on 3 of 5 shooting from deep. Freshman Daquaise Andrews (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in eight points (4-13 FG), three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) added six points (2-4 FG, 2-2 FT), two assists and two steals, while junior Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) posted five points (2-11 FG, 1-2 FT) and two boards.

Notes:
-Maryland is ranked No. 3 in both the USA Today and AP preseason polls.
-Maryland outshot SNHU, 52.6 percent (30-57) to 29.0 percent (18-62), including 42.9 percent (9-21) to 22.7 percent (5-22) from beyond the arc.
-The Terrapins also outrebounded the Penmen, 50-22, but turned it over 23 times compared to Southern New Hampshire's 16 giveaways.

Up Next:

The Penmen officially tip-off the season Saturday, Nov. 14 (7:30 p.m.) against the University of Bridgeport at the Bridgeport Men's Basketball Classic. The Penmen begin their home slate Saturday, Nov. 21 (3 p.m.) by welcoming in Holy Family University.

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