When and Where: November 11, 2023 – Staten Island, N.Y. (Sports & Recreation Center)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 99, College of Staten Island 79
Records: SNHU 1-1, CSI 0-2
Graduate student
Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) dropped a game-high 20 points, as five double-figure scorers led the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to a 99-79 victory against the College of Staten Island on Saturday at the Tournament of Heroes.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Rivera – 20 points (6-12 FG, 5-10 3-FG, 3-3 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
- Senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) – 18 points (6-8 FG, 4-6 3-FG, 2-3 FT), 3 rebounds, 6 assists
- Grad student Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) – 16 points (5-9 FG, 5-9 3-FG, 1-3 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
- Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) – 16 points (3-8 FG, 10-11 FT), 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals
- Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 12 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 5 rebounds
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire trailed by one just over seven-and-a-half minutes into the contest when it ripped off a 16-2 run to open up a 33-20 lead at the midway point of the stanza. Rivera, who led the way with seven points, and Kamba, each drained a pair of 3-pointers, while Becht also knocked down a triple. Back-to-back Becht trifectas four minutes later gave SNHU its largest lead of the half at 47-28 with 5:28 left and the Penmen would eventually take a 50-33 advantage to the locker room.
- A Grant 3 less than 40 seconds into the second half sparked a 6-0 spurt that made it 56-33 just over two minutes in. Staten Island would whittle its deficit to 13 with less than 12 minutes to go, but a 15-2 blitz – with seven points from Kamba and five from Henderson – would give the Penmen their largest lead of the contest at 82-56 with 8:22 on the clock. The Dolphins would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) posted five points (2-5 FG, 1-1 3-FG), two rebounds and three assists.
- Senior Preston Santos (Providence, R.I.) chipped in five points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3-FG).
- Southern New Hampshire outshot Staten Island, 53.3 percent (32-60) to 45.8 percent (27-59), including 51.4 percent (18-35) to 41.7 percent (10-24) from beyond the arc. The Dolphins were better at the line, 78.9 percent (15-19) to 73.9 percent (17-23).
- The Penmen scored more points off turnovers (18-9), received more scoring from their bench (30-27) and featured a more impressive assist-to-turnover ratio (25/9-11/13), while the Dolphins won the glass (29-26) and the paint (28-24), and scored more second chance points (15-8) and on the fast break (13-11).
NOTES
- Southern New Hampshire is 1-1 for the second straight season.
- Incredibly, Becht going 1-for-3 at the free throw line was just the second time in his Penmen career that he missed more than one free throw in a single contest. Becht, who had played in 54 contests with SNHU entering the day, went 6-for-8 at the stripe at Stonehill on Jan. 14, 2022 in the other game he missed two free throws. Becht was a career 91.2 percent (165-181) free throw shooter prior to Saturday.
WHAT'S NEXT
- The Penmen are back in action Saturday, Nov. 18 (1 p.m.) when they open their home slate against Franklin Pierce University at the Stan Spirou Field House.
