STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Rivera – career-high 25 points (8-11 FG, 6-8 3-FG, 3-5 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• Junior Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) – 9 points (2-6 FG, 5-6 FT), career-high 13 rebounds, 3 assists
• Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 9 points (4-7 FG, 1-1 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 blocks

KEY MOMENTS

• After falling behind, 4-0, Southern New Hampshire ripped off a 24-4 run – with nine points from Rivera and eight from senior Preston Santos (Providence, R.I.) – to grab a 24-8 advantage just past the midway point of the opening half. An 8-0 counter-run from Molloy would slice its deficit in half and SNHU would end up taking a 32-20 lead to the break.
• The Penmen opened the second stanza by scoring 21 of the first 27 points to extend the lead to 55-26 just over eight minutes in. Rivera led the way with 10 points during the stretch, while junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) added five. SNHU seized its largest lead of the afternoon at 64-32 on a bucket by Grant with 7:25 remaining and never led by less than 25 the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Santos tallied eight points (3-5 FG, 2-3 3-FG), three rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• Sophomore Royce Williams (Manchester, N.H.) netted six points (3-8 FG).
• Henderson posted five points (2-5 FG, 1-3 3-FG), five rebounds and four assists.
• Grad student Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) recorded five points (2-8 FG, 1-4 3-FG), two rebounds and two assists.
• Junior Kyle Rocker (Lawrence, Mass.) scored a season-high five points (2-3 FG, 1-1 3-FG)
• Junior Brenden Choate (Nashua, N.H.) filled the stat sheet with four points (2-4 FG), two rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks.
• Senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) chipped in three points (1-5 FG, 1-5 3-FG).
• Junior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) notched two points (1-3 FG) and six boards.
• Southern New Hampshire outshot Molloy, 45.5 percent (30-66) to 28.4 percent (19-67), including 40 percent (12-30) to 0 percent )(0-17) from behind the arc. The Penmen were also better from the line, 75 percent (9-12) to 71.4 percent (15-21).
• The Penmen captured the paint (30-28), scored more points off turnovers (14-7) and on the fast break (13-8), received more scoring from their bench (35-17) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (14/9-3/14), while the Lions won the glass (44-41) and scored more second chance points (19-15).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, which is receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coaches Poll, has won eight of its last nine, including four straight. The 8-2 start is the best for the program since it began the 2017-18 campaign 9-1.
• SNHU improves to 4-0 all-time against Molloy, including 2-0 at home.
• Rivera is 14-for-23 from downtown over his last three games and is averaging 18.7 points per game during that time.
• The Penmen have now had more assists than turnovers in seven of their 10 games this season, including four straight. Their assist-to-turnover ratio during that three-game stretch is 55/30 (1.83). That 1.83 would place them fifth in all of NCAA Division II for the season.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 3 (7:30 p.m.) when they take on Adelphi University.
• The next home contest for SNHU is Wednesday, Jan. 10 (7:30 p.m.) when they play host to American International College at the Stan Spirou Field House in a contest that will air on WGIR 610-AM and Fox Sports 930-AM.