When and Where: March 16, 2024 – Colchester, Vt. (Ross Sports Center)
Score: #3 seed Southern New Hampshire University 75, #6 seed Bloomfield College 70
Records: SNHU 22-10, BC 21-10
Junior
Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) and graduate student
Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) combined for 39 points to guide the third-seeded Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to a 75-70 victory over sixth-seeded Bloomfield College on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship at Saint Michael's College's Ross Sports Center.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Henderson – 20 points (7-11 FG, 5-6 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
- Becht – 19 points (7-15 FG, 3-10 3-FG, 2-3 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists
- Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) – 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire trailed by two a little more than three minutes into the contest when a 3-pointer from senior Preston Santos (Providence, R.I.) sparked a 10-0 run that featured five points from Becht and opened a 15-7 advantage with 14:31 remaining.
- Bloomfield climbed back in it with an 8-2 counter-run, but back-to-back treys from Henderson and Becht powered an 8-0 blitz that gave SNHU its largest lead of the game at 25-15 with 9:41 to go. The Bears would answer with an 11-3 run that slashed their deficit to 28-26 with four-and-a-half minutes left. The Penmen would go to the break with a 37-36 edge.
- The Penmen were down two a little over four minutes into the second half when seven straight – highlighted by a triple from senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) – put them back in front, 47-42, with 14:37 remaining. Later, a 7-2 spurt – started by five points from Henderson and finished with a Santos dunk – stretched the lead to 64-56 with 4:14 on the clock. Bloomfield would get as close as 70-66 with under a minute to go, but a Henderson 3 with 35 seconds left proved to be the dagger.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Santos posted eight points (3-10 FG, 2-5 3-FG), six rebounds and a pair of assists.
- Kamba netted eight points (2-9 FG, 2-9 3-FG, 2-2 FT), dished two assists and made a pair of steals.
- Junior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) recorded five points (2-7 FG, 1-2 FT) and four boards.
- Junior Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) tallied four points (4-4 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
- Southern New Hampshire outshot Bloomfield, 40.3 percent (25-62) to 33.8 percent (22-65), including 33.3 percent (12-36) to 30 percent (6-20) from long range.
- The Bears were plus-7 at the line and shot it better, 90.9 percent (20-22) to 72.2 percent (13-18).
- The Penmen scored more points off turnovers (11-7) and on the fast break (7-6), and featured a more impressive assist-to-turnover ratio (17/11-10/13), while the Bears captured the glass (44-38) and the paint (30-22), scored more second chance points (7-4) and received more scoring from their bench (13-12).
NOTES
- Southern New Hampshire, which reaches 22 wins for the first time since 2015-16 (23-11), has won nine of its last 11, including a season-high eight-in-a-row.
- The Penmen improve to 29-21 (.580) all-time in the NCAA Championship, including 1-0 against Bloomfield. SNHU advances to the regional semifinal for the fourth time in the last 10 years, including the second straight season. It will take on seventh-seeded Post University in the first ever NCAA postseason meeting between the two teams Sunday (March 17) at 5 p.m. The Penmen captured an 82-76 road win over the Eagles in the regular season back on Nov. 26.
- SNHU has won five straight postseason games for the fifth time in program history. The last time the Penmen attained the feat was 2015-16, when they started 5-0, including four NE10 tourney wins en route to the title, before falling in the regional semis. SNHU captured six straight postseason contests in 1992-93 and 1993-94, when they advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four, as well as in 1994-95, when they made a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight.
- SNHU leads the all-time series with Bloomfield, 6-1, and has won four-in-a-row. The Penmen, who notched a 69-67 road win in the regular season on Dec. 9, is 3-0 versus the Bears on a neutral court.
- In three games at the Ross Sports Center this season, Henderson is averaging 19.3 points per game on 63.3 percent (19-30) shooting, including a ridiculous 75 percent (15-20) from downtown, and 71.4 percent (5-7) at the stripe.
WHAT'S NEXT
- The Penmen take on seventh-seeded Post University in the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship semifinal Sunday (March 17) at 5 p.m.
