STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Rivera – 14 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 3 rebounds
• Senior Preston Santos (Providence, R.I.) – 12 points (3-9 FG, 1-5 3-FG, 5-6 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Graduate student Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) – 11 points (3-9 FG, 3-8 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 3 assists, 2 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire fell behind, 7-2, over the opening 3:11 of the game, but responded to what would be its largest deficit of the day with a 24-7 burst to open its largest lead of the contest at 26-14 with 7:14 remaining in the first half. Six Penmen each scored at least three points to combine on the run, which was led by Rivera, and juniors Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) and Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) with five points a piece. Pace scored 10 straight later in the half to slash its deficit to 28-26 with 2:10 left, but SNHU would net the final five to bring a 36-29 advantage to the break.
• The Penmen ran its second-half lead to as many as 10 at 45-35 a little more than four minutes in, but a 15-4 rush later in the stanza flipped Pace in front, 53-51, with 8:24 to go. Following three ties and three lead changes, a Becht 3-pointer triggered a 7-0 run that put SNHU in control at 66-60 with 4:11 left. Pace would score nine straight, however, to seize a 69-66 lead with a minute-and-a-half to play. A dunk from junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) off a Becht feed made it a one-point game with 1:12 remaining, but the Penmen would miss a pair of potential go-ahead free throws with 44 ticks left, as well as a potential game-winning 3 just before the buzzer.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Henderson posted eight points (3-10 FG, 2-5 3-FG) and six rebounds.
• Senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) registered eight points (2-4 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-3 FT), four rebounds and three assists.
• Brathwaite recorded seven points (2-4 FG, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and three assists.
• Grant Jr. tallied five points (1-5 FG, 3-6 FT), six boards and a pair of assists.
• Pace outshot Southern New Hampshire, 42.9 percent (24-56) to 37.7 percent (20-53), while SNHU returned the favor from behind the arc, 36.7 percent (11-30) to 29.2 percent (7-24).
• The Setters shot it better from the line, 75 percent (15-20) to 73.9 percent (17-23).
• The Penmen scored more points off turnovers (14-11), received more scoring from their bench (23-11) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (13/10-11/10), while the Setters captured the paint (28-14) and scored more second chance points (17-7). Rebounding was even (33-33).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has now dropped four of its last five.
• SNHU, which leads the all-time series, 21-15, has won 12 of the last 17 meetings, though the teams have split the last 10 gatherings and Pace has captured three of four. The Penmen had their nine-game home winning streak against the Setters snapped. This was Pace's first win at SNHU since Dec. 2, 2006 (82-66).
• Pace recorded an 81-77 victory on its home floor back on Jan. 6, making this the first regular-season sweep of the Penmen since the 2006-07 campaign.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Wednesday, Feb. 21 (7:30 p.m.) when they take on Southern Connecticut State University.
• The next home contest for SNHU is Saturday, Feb. 24 (3:30 p.m.) when it takes on Assumption University at the Field House.