MANCHESTER, N.H. – Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) notched his fifth double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds as Southern New Hampshire University outlasted Franklin Pierce University for a 75-68 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Tuesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen, who won for the eighth time in nine games, improved to 15-6 and 13-4 in the NE-10, while the Ravens are now 13-10 and 8-8 in the league.

Bonsignore finished 7-15 from the floor and led four players in double figures.  Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) recorded 17 points off the bench, going 7-7 at the free throw line while grabbing six rebounds.  Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) notched 10 of his 12 points in the first half, while BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) added 11 points and five rebounds.

Paul Becklens led Franklin Pierce with 18 points and nine assists, while Ryen Vilmont finished with 14 points.  Mike McDevitt notched 13 points and nine rebounds, while Jacob Jacquo was 3-3 from three off the bench and added 11 points.

SNHU led 62-54 with 10:40 to go when Franklin Pierce used a 12-3 run capped by a Jacquo three with eight minutes left to take a 66-65 lead.  The two teams would then enter into a defensive struggle, and the Penmen took a 67-66 lead with 4:47 to go on a drive and basket by Sanders.

Clinging to a 70-68 lead with under a minute left, Sanders drove the lane and kicked to Gilligan in the left corner as the Raven defense collapsed.  Gilligan knocked down a three to make it 73-68 with 35 seconds left.  Tyler Iacuone drove the lane on the next FPU possession, but Bonsignore came up with a monster block, and Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) eventually got a steal after a Raven offensive board.  Gilligan sank two at the line with 16 seconds left to seal the win for the Penmen.

The first half saw seven ties and six lead changes, but a late 10-3 spurt by the Penmen gave the hosts a 42-35 lead with 1:07 left following a pair of Gilligan free throws.  Franklin Pierce scored six of the final eight points of the half and a Becklens layup as time expired to cut the SNHU lead to three, 44-41, at intermission.

Southern New Hampshire took 14 more trips to the free throw line than Franklin Pierce and went 16-21 while the Ravens were 6-7 at the charity stripe.  The Penmen knocked down 11 of their 20 three-point attempts and shot 43.6% from the floor, while the guests went 10-21 behind the arc and shot 47.3% from the floor.  SNHU committed a season-low seven turnovers and held a 13-4 lead in points off turnovers as the Ravens has 12 giveaways, and both teams grabbed 32 rebounds.

SNHU returns to action Saturday afternoon when it travels to Stonehill College for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.

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