Box Score RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH STAN SPIROU
When and Where: February 23, 2016 – Manchester, N.H. (SNHU Fieldhouse)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 70, Saint Anselm College 68 (2OT)
Records: SNHU 18-10 (14-7 Northeast-10), Saint Anselm 20-6 (15-6 Northeast-10)
Senior BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) rolled in a layup as time expired to lift the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to Tuesday evening's 70-68 double-overtime victory against crosstown-rival and 21st-ranked Saint Anselm College in both team's regular-season finale in front of a crowd of 1,211 at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
The Penmen came back from 15 down with over 10 minutes to play in regulation before eking out the double-OT win. SNHU earns the Northeast-10 Northeast Division's No. 4 seed and will play host to the Southwest's fifth seed, American International College, on Friday, Feb. 26 (7 p.m.) at the Fieldhouse. The loss costs the Hawks the top seed in the Northeast as they instead fall to No. 2 to set up a Sunday (Feb. 28) matchup against Southwest No. 3 College of Saint Rose at Saint Anselm.
Senior Rodney Sanders (Elizabeth, N.J.), who played 49 of 50 minutes, led the way with a game-high 22 points (7-17 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 6-7 FT), including nine during SNHU's game-changing run in the second half, to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, while junior Chris Walters (Stamford, Conn.) posted his 10th double-double of the season with 16 points (6-13 FG, 4-4 FT), a career-high-matching 16 rebounds, a career-best six blocks and three steals. Walters recorded 16 points, nine boards and four blocks in the second half and overtime, combined. Fellow junior Devin Gilligan (Amherst, N.H.) was also in double figures with 11 points (2-11 FG, 1-6 3-FG, 6-7 FT), four boards and two steals.
Mike McCahey paced Saint Anselm with 18 points, while Tim Guers and Victor Joshua each added 16.
Trailing, 56-41, with 10:13 remaining in the second half, the Penmen ripped off a 13-2 run – buoyed by nine points from Sanders and four from Walters – to slash their deficit to 58-54 with 5:59 remaining. Saint Anselm would nudge the lead to six and forged ahead at 62-56 with 3:01 left before SNHU scored the final six points of regulation, including a pair of free throws from Walters with 1:43 left, to knot the game at 56-all.
Southern New Hampshire locked down on defense as a blocked shot and a pair of turnovers left Saint Anselm empty-handed on its three possessions down the stretch. The Penmen missed a free throw on the front end of a 1-and-1 and could not connect on a pair of shots, including one at the buzzer, to force overtime.
In the first extra session, the teams swapped scores twice to leave the game tied at 66 with 1:45 to play. Saint Anselm had a chance to win it when McCahey tried to tip in a teammate's miss, but the attempt narrowly missed to allow a second extra session.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the second overtime with a layup from Chris Braley just 14 seconds in, but they would never score again as a layup from freshman Daquaise Andrews (Queens, N.Y.) evened the score at 68-68 with 2:32 remaining.
Neither squad could score the go-ahead bucket until Cardarelli received a pass from Sanders on the right wing, curled to the middle and put up a shot from the center of the paint that caromed from the right side of the rim and off the glass before bouncing back on to the left side of the rim where it finally rolled through the cylinder as the buzzer sounded.
Cardarelli finished with nine points (4-10 FG, 1-4 3-FG), four rebounds and a pair of blocks, with Andrews adding eight points (4-12 FG), four rebounds and two steals.
Sanders scored the first seven points of the contest, including a jumper that tied the game at 7-7 a little over four minutes in. McCahey canned a 3-pointer to snap the deadlock before Gilligan scored five straight points as part of a 7-0 run that put Southern New Hampshire in front, 14-10, at the 13:03 mark.
Saint Anselm crafted a 12-2 counter-run – with seven points from McCahey and five from Guers – that put it on top, 22-16, with 9:24 to go in the opening half. A 6-0 spurt later in the stanza gave the Penmen a 25-24 edge with 2:25 left, but seven straight points from Joshua powered a 9-2 run that closed the half with the Hawks holding a 33-26 advantage.
Saint Anselm extended its lead to 47-34 less than five minutes into the second half when a pair of McCahey triples stoked a 10-4 run. Southern New Hampshire would climb to within eight, but seven straight points, including five from Joshua, gave the visitors their largest lead of the night at 56-41 with 10:32 to play.
 Notes:
-SNHU wins for the eighth time in its last 10 games.
-Head coach Stan Spirou records his 599th career victory, including his 24th all-time against Saint Anselm.
-The Penmen improve to 12-3 at home, including 10-1 against Northeast-10 foes.
-Saint Anselm outshot Southern New Hampshire, 39.2 percent (29-74) to 34.7 percent (25-72), including 23.8 percent (5-21) to 21.1 percent (4-19) from beyond the arc.
-SNHU held a decisive edge at the line, going 16-for-19 (84.2%), while Saint Anselm was just 5 of 10 (50%).
-The Hawks owned the glass (51-42) and the paint (42-32), but turned it over a season-high 23 times, with the Penmen getting charged with just 15 turnovers.
-The win is just the second of the season for Southern New Hampshire when trailing at the half.
-SNHU's defense does it again as the Penmen improve to 15-2 when holding their opponents to 70 points or fewer, 8-0 when limiting them to less than 40 percent shooting and 16-2 when keeping them to 40 percent or less from long distance.
-Sanders, Cardarelli and fellow senior Kostas Mantalvanos (Athens, Greece) were all honored in a Senior Night ceremony prior to the game.
Up Next:
The Penmen are back in action Friday, Feb. 26 (7 p.m.) when they play host to American International College (11-15, 7-13 NE-10) in a Northeast-10 Championship first round meeting at the Fieldhouse. The winner will travel to take on the Southwest's top seed, Southern Connecticut State University (22-6, 17-3 NE-10), in a quarterfinal tilt Sunday, Feb. 28.
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