MANCHESTER, N.H. – Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) totaled 20 points as Southern New Hampshire University posted a convincing 67-43 non-conference men's basketball victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas College Monday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen, who have won three in a row and 10 of 11, improve to 17-6, while the Spartans, co-leaders of the East Coast Conference standings, now stand 16-10 on the season.

Bonsignore finished 7-11 from the floor and 5-5 at the free throw line, headlining what was otherwise a balanced attack.  Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) tallied 10 points off the bench, while Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) recorded nine points.  BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) recorded eight points, while Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) added seven points.  Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) dished out six assists.

Sam Berlin led Saint Thomas Aquinas with nine points.

Southern New Hampshire controlled the game from the opening tip, opening up a 14-0 lead four minutes into the game and extending that lead to 17-2 at the 14:55 mark on a Bonsignore three.  The Penmen took their largest lead of the first half, 40-11, on a Max Taylor (Shokan, N.Y.) three 2:11 before intermission and took a 42-15 lead into the locker room.

A Taylor triple midway through the second half gave Southern New Hampshire its largest lead of the game, 61-27, as the Penmen maintained a comfortable margin over the final 20 minutes.

SNHU shot 59.3% in the first half and 46.2% for the game while limiting the Spartans to 32.1% for the contest.  The Penmen knocked down 10 of their 26 three-point attempts, including 9-of-17 in the opening 20 minutes, and went 9-10 at the free throw line, while STAC went 7-11 from the charity stripe.  The guests held a 35-31 rebound advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to Northeast-10 play Wednesday night when it travels to Bentley University for a 7:30 contest.  The next Penmen home game is Saturday, February 21, when SNHU entertains Saint Michael's College in a 3:30 tilt that can be seen on NESNplus and NESN National.

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