STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Santos – career-high 23 points (9-11 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 4-4 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists
• Becht – 19 points (5-11 FG, 5-11 3-FG, 4-5 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists
• Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) – 15 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3-FG, 4-5 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists
• Graduate student Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) – 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-8 3-FG), 3 rebounds, 2 steals
• Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 9 points (3-8 FG, 3-4 FT), 5 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS

• After Southern New Hampshire scored the first six points of the contest, Saint Michael's returned the favor with a 6-0 counter-run that left the game tied just over five minutes in. Three more ties ensued before a 10-4 run for the Purple Knights put them in front, 24-18 with 8:22 left in the opening half.
• The Penmen closed to within a pair two-and-a-half minutes later, but nine straight provided SMC with its largest lead of the night at 36-25 with 3:48 to go. SNHU trimmed its deficit to just three at the break with an 8-0 run over the final 1:39 that was bookended by 3-pointers from Rivera and Becht to make it 39-36.
• A Santos triple just 42 seconds into the second stanza tied the game. Five ties and five lead changes followed to leave the score tied, 65-65. Becht drilled a trio of 3-pointers to spark an 11-2 rush that gave the Penmen a 76-67 advantage – their largest of the game – with 1:14 on the clock. Saint Michael's would score eight of the next 12 to get as close as 80-75 with 12 seconds left, but would run out of time.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) netted six points (2-5 FG, 2-4 3-FG) and grabbed a pair of boards.
• Southern New Hampshire outshot Saint Michael's, 50 percent (27-54) to 41.9 percent (26-62), while SMC returned the favor from deep, 44.1 percent (15-34) to 40.6 percent (13-32). SNHU was also plus-7 from the line and shot it better, 83.3 percent (15-18) to 61.5 percent (8-13).
• The Penmen captured the glass (35-27) and the paint (28-16), scored more second chance points (7-3) and on the fast break (11-6), while the Purple Knights received more scoring from their bench (27-6) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (13/11-15/15). Points off turnovers were even (9-9).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won five of its last seven, including three straight.
• Saint Michael's, ranked 24th in the Division II College Sport Communicators (D2CSC) Media Poll and receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coaches Poll, had won eight of its last 10, including two-in-a-row, but has now split its last six.
• The Penmen (9-5) remain in third place in the NE10 standings, but close to within two games of first-place Saint Michael's (11-3). Adelphi University (10-4) sits in second.
• SNHU leads the all-time series with Saint Michael's, 42-15, and has won 17 of the last 21 meetings, including six of seven. The Penmen have also won four of the last five on the road versus the Purple Knights, who last defeated SNHU at home Feb. 6, 2019 (82-72).
• The Penmen salvaged a split of the regular-season series with the Purple Knights, who escaped Manchester with a 63-62 win back on Nov. 29. This is the first time Saint Michael's has earned a split with SNHU since the 2018-19 campaign.
• Grant, who was a 59 percent free throw shooter last season, started this campaign 15 of 24 (62.5%) from the line over his first six games, but has since gone 37-for-46 (80.4%) over his last 13, including 18-for-20 (90%) in the last six.
• After scoring 10 total points through the first three games of the year, Santos is averaging 12.1 ppg over his last 13 and has scored in double figures 10 times, including seven straight.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Saturday, Feb. 3 (3:30 p.m.) when they play host to the University of New Haven at the Stan Spirou Field House on Pink Day.