BOX SCORE | RAPID REACTION WITH HEAD COACH JACK PERRI

When and Where: February 25, 2020 – Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 70, Saint Michael's College 54
Records: SNHU 16-11 (9-10 NE10), SMC 7-19 (4-15 NE10)

Junior Michael Almonacy (Brentwood, N.Y.) scored 18 points off the bench to guide the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to a 70-54 victory against Saint Michael's College on Tuesday night at the Stan Spirou Field House on Senior Night.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Almonacy – 18 points (6-12 FG, 4-8 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
• Senior Eamonn Joyce (Medford, Mass.) – 13 points (5-11 FG, 1-6 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals
• Senior Shawn Montague (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) – 10 points (4-8 FG, 2-3 3-FG), 7 rebounds, 4 blocks
• Freshman Jacari Sanders (San Antonio, Texas) – 10 points (3-6 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 3-3 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Freshman Ryan Conroy (Staten Island, N.Y.) – 6 points (2-6 FG, 2-6 3-FG)
• Senior Ryogo Sumino (Kanagawa, Japan) – 6 points (2-4 FG, 2-2 3-FG)
• Sophomore Mikey Buscetto (Waterford, Conn.) – 4 points (2-7 FG), 5 assists, 4 rebounds
• Junior Corry Long (Cincinnati, Ohio) – 3 points (1-7 FG, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 steals

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire trailed, 10-7, 5:45 into the contest when an 18-2 barrage - led by eight points from Almonacy - opened up a 25-12 lead for the Penmen. SNHU drained five 3-pointers during the stretch.
• The Penmen later used a 9-0 run that spanned the two halves to grab their largest lead of the night at 42-26 just 13 seconds into the second stanza. Joyce and Almonacy scored four and three points, respectively, while Montague added a bucket.
• After Saint Michael's trimmed its deficit to just four with 13-and-a-half minutes remaining, SNHU pulled away with a balanced 17-6 blitz that featured five scorers and reinstated a 15-point lead at 61-46 with 5:36 to go. Sanders and Almonacy led the way with five and four points, respectively.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Eli DiGrande paced Saint Michael's with 16 points (8-16 FG).
• The Purple Knights narrowly outshot the Penmen, 41.7 percent (25-60) to 41 percent (25-61), while SNHU returned the favor from behind the arc, 38.7 percent (12-31) to 22.2 percent (4-18).
• Southern New Hampshire was also plus-8 from the line, as it went 8-for-9 (88.9%) and Saint Michael's was 0-for-6.
• The Penmen featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (12/13-3/19) and received more scoring from their bench (30-15), while the Purple Knights captured the glass (38-36) and the paint (32-22), collected more second chance points (8-5) and and points on the fast break (7-2). Points off turnovers were even (12-12). 

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won seven of its last 10, while Saint Michael's ends its season with a five-game losing skid. 
• The Penmen earn the No. 5 seed in the NE10 Northeast Division and will head to the Southwest's No. 4 seed, Pace University, for a Northeast-10 Championship first round contest Friday, Feb. 28 (7:30 p.m.). SNHU tied for fourth with Bentley University, but the Falcons earned the tiebreaker by virtue of their 1-1 record against the division's No. 1 seed, Saint Anselm College, which finished 2-0 against Southern New Hampshire. Looking ahead, the Penmen could have a chance to exact some revenge on the crosstown-rival Hawks, as a win over Pace would send them to Sunday's (4 p.m.) quarterfinal with a matchup at Saint Anselm.
• SNHU, which leads the all-time series with Saint Michael's, 38-14, has won 13 of the last 16, including eight-in-a-row at home. The last time the Penmen lost to the Purple Knights at the Field House was Nov. 16, 2011 (59-57).
• Southern New Hampshire swept the regular-season series from the Purple Knights, as it also won on the road, 83-64, back on Dec. 4.
• Joyce, Montague, Sumino and manager Jordan Julio were honored in a ceremony prior to the game.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen travel to Pace for an NE10 Championship first round matchup Friday, Feb. 28 (7 p.m.).

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