Box Score BOX SCORE
RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH STAN SPIROU
When and Where: January 26, 2016 – Manchester, N.H. (SNHU Fieldhouse)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 83, Le Moyne College 53
Records: SNHU 12-8 (8-5 Northeast-10), Le Moyne 6-12 (4-9 Northeast-10)
Senior Rodney Sanders (Elizabeth, N.J.) scored 20 points and junior Chris Walters (Stamford, Conn.) added 18 in his return from a three-game absence to lead the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to an 83-53 whitewashing of Le Moyne College on Tuesday evening at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
Sanders continued his superb efficiency this season as he shot 5 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 4 from long distance, and 7 of 8 from the stripe, while corralling four rebounds. Walters shook off some first-half rust to shoot 8-for-18 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from deep, and finish with nine boards and a pair of blocks. Walters registered 14 points and seven rebounds in the second half. Fellow junior Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) was also in double figures with 10 points (3-7 FG, 4-8 FT) and five rebounds.
Qwadere Lovell paced the Dolphins with 13 points, while Stan Buczek finished with 12 points and 10 boards.
In an opening half that featured seven lead changes and four ties and no lead larger than three points, Southern New Hampshire moved in front for good at 20-18 on a Sanders 3-pointer at the 10:42 mark. The Penmen would use an 11-1 run – powered by four points from Sanders – nearly two-and-a-half minutes later to break open a 33-21 lead with 5:24 remaining in the opening half.
A 9-0 counter-surge from the Dolphins would slash their deficit to three at 33-30 with 2:20 to go, but SNHU would carry a 37-32 advantage into the break.
The Penmen wasted no time jumping on the visitors in the second half as they reeled off an 18-5 run – with seven points from Walters – to balloon the lead to 55-37 with 12:56 to play. Southern New Hampshire led 62-41 midway through the second stanza when seven straight points pulled the Dolphins to within 14, but SNHU shut down any thoughts of a comeback by closing the contest on a 21-5 wave. Walters and senior Kostas Mantalvanos (Athens, Greece) led the way with five points apiece.
Classmate BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) posted eight points (3-8 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 1-3 FT), eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, while freshman Daquaise Andrews (Queens, N.Y.) finished with eight points (1-4 FG, 6-7 FT) and five boards. Junior Adrian Oliveira (Pawtucket, R.I.) registered six points (3-9 FG) and four assists, with classmate Jerome Harris (Hartford, Conn.) chipping in six points (2-3 FG, 2-2 3-FG) and two steals.
Notes:
-Southern New Hampshire outshot Le Moyne, 45.2 percent (28-62) to 37 percent (20-54), including 47.1 percent (8-17) to 19 percent (4-21) from long range and 51.6 percent (16-31) to 20.7 percent (6-29) in the second half, overall.
-The Penmen outrebounded the Dolphins, 39-33, including 14-8 on the offensive end for a 16-7 advantage in second chance points. SNHU also won the paint (32-28) and used a much better assist-to-turnover ratio (13/8-8/15) to post a 23-4 margin in points off mistakes.
-SNHU remains a perfect 6-0 at home against Northeast-10 foes
-The Penmen are now 10-1 when holding their opponents to 70 or fewer points, including a perfect 4-0 when limiting them to 60 or less. They are also now 6-0 when holding their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the field and 10-1 when keeping them under 40 percent from the arc.
-Sanders scored in double figures in his 17th consecutive game.
Up Next:
The Penmen are back in action Saturday, Jan. 30 (3:30 p.m.) when they play host to Pace University on Salute to Service Day at the Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased HERE or at the box office on the day of the game.
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