STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Santos – career-high 20 points (8-12 FG, 2-3 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 steals
• Graduate student Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) – 18 points (5-12 FG, 1-5 3-FG, 7-8 FT)
• Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) – 15 points (6-11 FG, 1-4 3-FG, 2-4 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 13 points (6-11 FG, 1-1 FT), 8 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS

• Adelphi began the game on a 17-3 run over the opening four-plus minutes, but Southern New Hampshire roared back with 16 straight as part of a 25-4 blitz that gave it a 28-21 lead with 8:51 to go in the first half. Six different scorers contributed during the stretch, with Santos leading the way with seven and junior Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) adding five. The Penmen would grab their largest lead of the game at 34-26 with 6:06 remaining, but the Panthers would slash their halftime deficit to 44-42.
• SNHU led, 50-44, just over two minutes into the second half when Adelphi ripped off a 17-2 run to open a 61-52 advantage with 13:23 to play.  A 13-4 counter-run from the Penmen – paced by seven from Santos – knotted the contest at 65-all at the 8:03 mark, but a 14-4 flurry would give the hosts their largest lead of the night at 79-69 with 4:17 on the clock.
• With less than three minutes remaining, five different scorers carried a 10-1 romp that was capped by a Santos put-back dunk that pulled the Penmen within 82-81 with 11 seconds left. After Adelphi hit one of two at the line with nine ticks to go, SNHU had a chance to win it, but turned the ball over with a second remaining. The Panthers again left the door open by only knocking down one of two at the stripe, but the visitors' full-court heave fell short.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Greene scored seven points and matched his career best with 13 rebounds.
• Graduate student Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) notched five points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3-FG) and a pair of assists.
• Southern New Hampshire narrowly outshot Adelphi, 50 percent (31-62) to 49.1 percent (27-55), while the Panthers dominated from deep, 46.4 percent (13-28) to 31.3 percent (5-16). Adelphi was also minimally better from the line, 70.8 percent (17-24) to 70 percent (14-20).
• The Penmen captured the glass (40-30) and the paint (32-28), scored more second chance points (15-8) and received more scoring from their bench (28-18), while the Panthers scored more points off turnovers (22-16) and on the fast break (11-8), and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (17/15-9/16).
• The 16 turnovers for SNHU were its second most of the season after giving it away 20 times in the season opener at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Nov. 10.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, which is receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coaches Poll, had won eight of its last nine, including four straight. The 8-3 start is the best for the program since it began the 2019-20 campaign 8-3.
• SNHU, which leads the all-time series with Adelphi 15-10, had won five of eight, including three-in-a-row. The teams have split the most recent 10 meetings, with the Panthers having won four of the last five on their home court.
• Since setting a career high with 13 points in the season opener, Grant has matched it three times.
• Rivera is 15-for-25 from downtown over his last four games.
• The Penmen had their streak of four straight contests with more assists than turnovers snapped after recording more mistakes than helpers for just the fourth time in their 11 games this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen are back in action Saturday, Jan. 6 (3:30 p.m.) when they take on Pace 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.