Box Score WORCESTER, Mass. – Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) led four Southern New Hampshire University players in double figures with 19 points as the Penmen got out to a quick start and held off Assumption College for a 79-67 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Tuesday night at Laska Gymnasium. The Penmen, who won their sixth straight game and for the 13th time in 14 games, improved to 20-6 overall and 17-4 in the NE-10, posting their first 20-win season since 2004-05. Assumption sees its season come to a close at 8-18 and 5-16 in the league.
SNHU returns to action Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Championship, where it will host the winner of Friday night's first round game between the University of New Haven, the No. 4 seed in the Southwest Division, and Merrimack College, the No. 5 seed in the Northeast Division. Game time at the SNHU Fieldhouse is set for 3:00 pm.
SNHU's 20-win season is the 22nd in program history and the 15th in 30-year head coach Stan Spirou's coaching career.
Sanders finished 7-10 from the floor and also grabbed five rebounds. BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) and Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) each recorded 12 points, while Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) added 10 points. Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) contributed seven points and six assists.
Kamali Bey led Assumption with 16 points, while Terrance Bobb-Jones finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Southern New Hampshire scored the game's first 12 points and opened up their largest lead, 40-20, with just over seven minutes to go following a n Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) basket. Assumption used a 10-2 run to pull within 12-, 42-30, with 3:03 to go, but the Penmen took a 50-35 lead into a locker room. Southern New Hampshire shot 60% (18-30) over the first 20 minutes and knocked down 11 of its 20 three-point attempts.
Assumption outscored SNHU 14-6 over the first 8:29 of the second half to pull within seven, 56-49, on a Bey free throw. The Greyhounds continued to chip away at the lead, and cut it to four three times, the latest coming with 3:52 left on a pair of Bey free throws. SNHU scored the next four points, with a pair of Sanders free throws making it 69-61 with three minutes left. A Jimmy Zenevitch layup with 1:58 to go pulled Assumption within six, but the Penmen sealed the victory by going 8-8 at the free throw line in the final 1:07.
The Penmen shot 47.9% for the contest and took 10 more trips to the free throw line, going 20-28 while Assumption went 14-18 at the charity stripe. Southern New Hampshire shot 46.4% from long range, knocking down a season-high 13 threes, while the Hounds were 3-7 behind the arc. The hosts held a 41-30 rebound advantage.
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