STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Becht – 24 points (9-15 FG, 5-10 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 2 assists
• Graduate student Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) – 12 points (6-7 FG), 6 rebounds, career-high 5 assists
• Junior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) – 12 points (4-6 FG, 4-5 FT)
• Sophomore Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) – 11 points (4-8 FG, 2-2 3-FG, 1-1 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Sophomore Ethan Okwuosa (No. Haven, Conn.) – 9 points (4-8 FG, 1-4 3-FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire trailed, 11-8, more than four-and-a-half minutes in when four different scorers made up a 10-0 blitz – highlighted by Becht and Brathwaite 3-pointers – to grab an 18-11 lead with 12:58 remaining in the opening half. St. Thomas Aquinas countered with a 10-0 rush of its own and jumped back in front at 21-18 with under 10 minutes to go.
• The game of runs continued, as the Penmen hit back with a 16-5 run – featuring nine points and a trio of triples from Kamba – to open a 34-26 advantage with 4:26 left. The Spartans again would not go away, ripping off nine straight points to re-take the lead at 35-34 with 2:04 to play. The teams fittingly went to the break tied at 37-all.
• SNHU came out of the locker room on a 28-6 run to open a 65-43 margin just past the midway point of the second half. Layman led the way with eight points, Okwuosa had seven, and Brathwaite and Becht each added five. The gap was 20 a little more than four minutes later when back-to-back Becht treys gave the Penmen their largest lead of the contest at 76-50 with 4:37 to go. The Spartans would close the game on a 14-2 run against the Penmen bench, but it was too little and too late.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sophomore Evan Guillory (Springfield, Mo.) tallied five points (2-5 FG, 1-2 FT) , eight rebounds and four assists, despite being in foul trouble.
• Sophomore Derrick Grant (Plainfield, N.J.) posted two points (2-2 FT), four boards and two assists.
• Graduate student Jackson Jordan (Potomac, Md.) scored three points (1-2 FG, 1-2 3-FG), knocking down a big triple to send the game to the half tied.
• Southern New Hampshire outshot St. Thomas Aquinas, 57.7 percent (30-52) to 36.5 percent (23-63), including 56.5 percent (13-23) to 31.8 percent (7-22) from downtown. The Penmen were also better at the line in limited trips, 71.4 percent (5-7) to 68.8 percent (11-16).
• The Penmen won the glass (36-27), received more scoring from their bench (17-13) and turned in a better assist-to-turnover ratio (16/20-5/7), while the Spartans captured the paint (26-22), scored more points off turnovers (27-2), second chance points (12-7) and on the fast break (18-0).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won 17 of its last 19 and 11 of 12.
• St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked 19th in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll and 24th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coaches Poll, had won 11 of its last 12, including five straight, entering the day.
• The Penmen improve to 28-20 (.583) all-time in the NCAA Championship, including 16-5 in the opening round. SNHU is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA postseason and first since 2017.
• SNHU's win ties the all-time series with STAC, 2-2, with the teams most recently meeting Jan. 9, 2017, which was a 104-90 home win for St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Eight of Layman's nine double-digit scoring performances this season have come in the last 11 games, including six of seven. He is averaging 10.1 ppg over the 11-game stretch and 11.7 in his last seven.
• Guillory had his 10-game, double-digit scoring streak (17.1 ppg) snapped.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen are back in action Sunday (March 12) at 5 p.m. when they take on the winner of second-seeded Bentley University and seventh-seeded Dominican (N.Y.) University in the NCAA East Regional semifinals.