STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Rivera – career-high 27 points (9-15 FG, 5-10 3-FG, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Santos – 25 points (11-14 FG, 3-3 FT), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
• Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 15 points (5-7 FG, 5-9 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 steals
• Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) – 11 points (4-8 FG, 3-6 3-FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, career-high 5 steals

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire trailed by one early when a 10-2 rush – with five each from Santos and Rivera – put the Penmen in front, 13-6, just under five minutes in. The margin was five just two-and-a-half minutes later when a 15-3 blitz from Saint Rose flipped it back into the lead at 26-19 with 3:49 remaining in the opening half. The gap would widen to as many as nine at 34-25 with 36 seconds on the clock, but SNHU would trim its deficit at the break to 34-28.
• Four points from Santos spurred an 8-2 run to open the second half that tied the game at 36 just two-and-a-half minutes in. The Penmen held a one-point lead with less than 12 minutes to go when a 15-2 barrage – powered by 11 points from Rivera, who knocked down a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch – gave SNHU its largest lead of the night at 64-50 with 8:43 remaining.
• A 13-2 counter-run from the Golden Knights slashed their deficit to 66-63 with 4:15 left, but seven straight from the Penmen gave them some breathing room at 75-65 with 1:14 on the clock. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Junior Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) chipped in three assists and two rebounds in eight minutes off the bench after missing the last 14 games with an injury.
• Rivera, Santos, Grant Jr. and Henderson combined for all 78 of SNHU's points.
• Southern New Hampshire outshot Saint Rose, 51.8 percent (29-56) to 43.3 percent (26-60), including 29.6 percent (8-27) to 13.3 percent (2-15) from behind the arc.
• Saint Rose was plus-four from the line and shot it better, 80 percent (16-20) to 70.6 percent (12-17).
• The Penmen captured the paint (36-32), scored more points off turnovers (24-14) and submitted a better assist-to-turnover ratio (16/11-5/12), while the Golden Knights won the glass (32-28), scored more second chance points (14-9) and on the fast break (7-5), and received more scoring from their bench (26-0).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won four of its last six, including three-in-a-row.
• The Penmen finished in a tie for fifth place with Southern Connecticut State University and won the tiebreaker via its 2-0 regular-season record versus the Owls. SNHU will play host to Franklin Pierce University in an NE10 Championship first round contest Friday (March 1) at 7 p.m. The Penmen are 2-0 against the Ravens all-time in the NE10 Championship, including a 58-51 win at home last season in the quarterfinals.
• SNHU, which leads the all-time series with Saint Rose, 25-18, has won 12 of the last 16 meetings, though the Golden Knights have captured three of five. The Penmen have won nine straight at home against Saint Rose, which last won in Manchester on Jan. 13, 2011 (72-66).
• The teams split the regular season series for the third straight season, after Saint Rose defeated SNHU, 77-67, at home Jan. 16.
• Over his last three games, Santos is averaging 26.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest, while shooting 79.1 percent (34-43) from the field, including 42.9 percent (3-7) from deep, and making all seven of his free throws.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen play host to in-state rival Franklin Pierce in an NE10 Championship first round tilt Friday, March 1 (7 p.m.) at the Stan Spirou Field House.