When and Where: December 2, 2023 – West Haven, Conn. (Charger Gymnasium)
Score: RV Southern New Hampshire University 64, University of New Haven 58
Records: SNHU 5-2 (3-1 NE10), UNH 1-7 (0-4 NE10)
Graduate student
Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) registered a season-high 26 points to pace the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team in its 64-58 win at the University of New Haven on Saturday at Charger Gymnasium.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Becht – season-high 26 points (8-19 FG, 5-14 3-FG, 5-6 FT), 7 rebounds
- Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – career-high-matching 13 points (4-7 FG, 1-1, 3-FG, 4-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire scored the first five points of the contest and led, 7-2, less then three minutes in when New Haven answered with a 9-1 run that gave it an 11-8 advantage with 11:28 remaining in the opening half. The Charger lead was as big as 18-13 with just over eight minutes to go before an 8-2 spurt – with all eight coming from Becht – flipped SNHU back in front at 21-20 with 5:06 left. The teams swapped the lead three more times, with the final occurrence coming on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that sent the hosts to the locker room with a 28-27 edge.
- A Grant slam just 10 seconds into the second half sparked a 9-2 run that put the Penmen up, 36-30, just over two minutes in, but a 9-2 counter-run gave New Haven the lead right back at 39-38 with 13:12 to go. UNH still led by one nearly five minutes later when a 6-0 run for Becht gave SNHU the lead for good at 51-46 with 7:11 on the clock. The Chargers would get as close as one, but the Penmen made their final 10 free throws to salt it away.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Grad student Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) recorded nine points (3-9 FG, 1-6 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds.
- Junior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) notched six points (2-6 FG, 2-2 FT), seven boards and a pair of assists.
- Junior Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) posted five points (2-2 FG, 1-2 FT) and eight rebounds.
- Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) netted five points (1-8 FG, 1-7 3-FG, 2-2 FT) to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
- New Haven narrowly outshot Southern New Hampshire, 38.6 percent (22-57) to 38.5 percent (20-52), including 32.3 percent (10-31) to 25.8 percent (8-31) from beyond the arc. The Penmen dominated at the stripe, 88.9 percent (16-18) to 28.6 percent (4-14).
- The Penmen captured the glass (41-33) and the paint (22-20), and score more points on the fast break (8-5), while the Chargers scored more points off turnovers (7-5) and second chance points (12-10), received more scoring from their bench (11-5) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (11/4-10/8).
NOTES
- Southern New Hampshire, which is receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, has won five of its last six and matches its 5-2 start from a year ago.
- SNHU leads the all-time series with New Haven, 52-28, and has won three of the last five meetings. The victory also snaps a three-game losing skid for the Penmen at New Haven, where they had not won since Jan. 29, 2015 (77-55).
WHAT'S NEXT
- The Penmen are back in action Wednesday, Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.) when they play host to Bentley University at the Stan Spirou Field House in a contest that will air on WGIR 610-AM and Fox Sports 930-AM.
