STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Greene – 20 points (9-19 FG, 2-2 FT), 14 rebounds
• Williams – 16 points (6-16 FG, 3-7 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals

 KEY MOMENTS

• The game's opening nine-plus minutes were tightly contested, with Southern New Hampshire holding a 16-15 lead before Bentley ripped off a 16-5 run to open a 31-21 advantage with 4:22 remaining in the first half. SNHU responded with eight-in-a-row, including four from Williams, to trim its deficit to a pair at 31-29 with 1:22 on the clock. The Falcons would take a 34-30 edge to the break.
• Bentley scored the first five points of the second half to go up nine less than four minutes in. A 13-6 flurry later on gave the Falcons their largest lead of the night at 52-41 with 8:28 remaining. The margin was still 11 with under seven-and-a-half minutes to go when SNHU ripped off 11-in-a-row, including the final five from Williams, to tie the game at 51-all with 4:56 left.
• After Bentley went back in front, Williams drained a 3-pointer with 2:46 to play that gave him eight straight and put the Penmen on top (57-56) for the first time since it was 16-15 with 10:47 remaining in the first half. The Falcons went 0-for-3 from the field with a turnover in the final 2:24, as a Williams steal in the final seconds all but sealed it when he passed it ahead to senior Jhamyl Fricas (Lawrence, Mass.), who was fouled with 0.2 on the clock.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Brenden Choate (Nashua, N.H.) posted seven points (3-8 FG, 1-1 FT), five rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• Fricas recorded five points (1-5 FG, 1-4 3-FG, 2-4 FT) and three rebounds.
• Senior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) notched three points (1-2 FG, 1-2 FT) and four boards.
• Senior Kyle Rocker (Lawrence, Mass.) made a clutch 3-pointer during the 11-0 run in the second half and finished with three points (1-2 FG, 1-1 3-FG).
• Senior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) tallied two points (1-10 FG), four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Freshman Dante Green (Dix Hills, N.Y.) chipped in two points (1-5 FG) and four rebounds.
• The Penmen, who came into the game minus two of their top players and with just nine players dressed, including three who were battling through illness, played with only seven healthy bodies at one point after two went down in game.
• During the 11-0 run that tied the game in the final five minutes, SNHU held Bentley scoreless for 4:16, as the Falcons went 0-for-5 from the floor with a turnover.
• Bentley outshot Southern New Hampshire, 38.3 percent (23-60) to 33.3 percent (23-69), including 40 percent (10-25) to 25 percent (5-20) from deep. SNHU was plus-7 from the line, despite shooting 63.6 percent (7-11), as Bentley missed its only two attempts.
• The Penmen narrowly won the glass (43-42) and the paint (26-24), scored more points off turnovers (14-0), second chance points (13-11) and on the fast break (5-0), received more scoring from their bench (12-6) and turned in a better assist-to-turnover ratio (5/5-10/11).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won 11 of its last 13, including eight of nine and seven straight.
• The Penmen reach 20 wins for the third consecutive season – the first time they have accomplished the feat since 2014-15 to 2016-17.
• SNHU improves to 28-16 (.636) in its 20th appearance in the NE10 Championship. After winning their third NE10 title last season, the Penmen have captured six straight NE10 postseason contests. SNHU is now 4-2 against Bentley in the NE10 championship, as the two teams met for the first time since the Penmen captured their second title with a road win over the Falcons in 2016.
• The Penmen will play host to fifth-seeded Pace University in the title game on Saturday (March 8), after the Setters knocked off top-seeded Adelphi, 72-68, in overtime Wednesday. SNHU split the regular-season series with the Setters and is 2-2 against Pace in the NE10 postseason. The teams, who have never met past the quarterfinal round, hooked up in the NE10 Championship last season when SNHU went on the road and secured a win to advance to the semifinals.
• Southern New Hampshire has a chance to be the seventh repeat NE10 Champion and first since Bentley in 2007 and 2008. The Penmen are the first team to play in the NE10 finals in back-to-back years since the University of New Haven in 2019 and 2020, as well as the first program to host consecutive NE10 title tilts since Bentley in 2007 and 2008. SNHU has not captured back-to-back conference crowns since 1997-98 and 1998-98 when it was a member of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC).
• Bentley leads the all-time series with SNHU, 34-31. While the teams have split the last 30 meetings, the Falcons have captured nine of the most recent 15 and seven of 11, though the Penmen have now managed to win four of the last seven, including two straight. The two teams have also split the last 10 games at SNHU.
• The 58 points scored matches a season-low for the Penmen, who lost at Pace, 76-58, on Feb. 1. The 58 points are the fewest since a 70-56 loss at American International College on Feb. 14, 2024 and are also the fewest in a win since a 58-51 victory against Franklin Pierce University on Feb. 26, 2023.
• The 56 points are also the fewest SNHU has allowed since an 82-52 victory against Saint Anselm College on Jan. 24, 2024.
• From an NE10 postseason perspective, the 58 points are the fewest in a win since SNHU's 2023 quarterfinal victory against Franklin Pierce, while the 56 points are the fewest since Saint Anselm limited New Haven to 54 in an 11-point win in the 2023 title game. The 114 combined points are also the fewest since New Haven defeated SNHU, 59-42, in 2023 semifinals.
• Greene's double-double is his 19th of the season, as well as his 11th in the last 16 games and seventh in the last nine.
• Greene, who had never scored 20 points in his career before the NE10 postseason began, has now reached the 20-point plateau in back-to-back games after dropping a career-high 27 against Saint Anselm in the semifinal round Sunday.
• Since leading scorer Ray Daniels (Las Vegas, Nev.) went down with an injury Jan. 14, the Penmen have kept winning by having different players step up each game. Over the following 12 contests, SNHU had not had the same leading scorer in back-to-back games for 12 straight contests prior to Wednesday when Greene brought the streak to an end. Six different members of the team led the squad in scoring during that stretch.

UP NEXT

• The second-seeded Penmen will play host to fifth-seeded Pace University in the NE10 Championship title game Saturday, March 8 (3 p.m.) at the Stan Spirou Field House. Tickets will be sold, with admission costing $10 for adults and $5 for seniors (65+) and children (5-18), while NE10 students are free. Cash and credit cards are accepted.