MANCHESTER, N.H. – Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) totaled 25 points as Southern New Hampshire University, the top seed in the Northeast Division, posted a convincing 97-65 victory over fifth-seeded Merrimack College in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Championship Sunday afternoon at the SNHU Fieldhouse. The Penmen, who have won seven straight and 14 of 15, improve to 21-6, while the Warriors, who had defeated SNHU twice during the regular season, see their season come to a close at 16-12 overall.

Southern New Hampshire advances to Wednesday night's semifinal round, where it will host American International College, the No. 2 seed in the Southwest Division, in a 7:00 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen defeated the Yellow Jackets 107-104 on January 10 in Springfield, Mass.  AIC advanced to the semifinals with a 68-63 win over Stonehill on Sunday.

Sanders finished 10-11 from the floor and knocked down all three of his three-point attempts as he paced four players in double figures.  He also handed out five assists.  Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) was 7-8 at the free throw line and contributed 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) narrowly missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.  Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) was 7-9 from the floor and added 16 points and six rebounds.

Gelvis Solano was the lone Merrimack player in double figures, as he finished with 26 points on 9-22 shooting.  JT Strickland and Troy Hammel recorded nine points apiece.

Leading 46-35 at halftime, Southern New Hampshire came out strong to start the second half, outscoring the guests 28-10 over the first eight minutes of the frame to build a 74-45 lead.  The Penmen connected on their first eight shots of the second half and made 10 of their first 12.  Merrimack cut the lead to 21 twice, the last time on a Solano dunk with just under eight minutes to go, but got no closer. Southern New Hampshire led by as many as 32 points down the stretch.

SNHU and Merrimack traded the lead six times over the first 13 minutes of the first half before the Penmen took the lead for good on a Sanders three at the 7:12 mark that gave the hosts a 26-24 lead.  Southern New Hampshire outscored the Warriors 17-8 over the final four minutes of the first half to take a 46-35 lead into the locker room.

Southern New Hampshire knocked down 12 of its 20 three-point attempts on the afternoon, knocking down at least 10 three-pointers for the fifth straight game, while shooting 54.5% and limiting Merrimack to 35.4% shooting on the contest, including a 4-19 effort behind the arc.  The Penmen took eight more trips to the free throw line, going 25-29 while Merrimack was 15-21, and the hosts held a 41-32 rebounding advantage.

SNHU's 32-point margin of victory is the largest in a Northeast-10 Championship game since Bentley defeated Saint Anselm 77-43 on February 26, 2007.

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