KEY MOMENTS

• After leading by as many as nine in the first half, Southern New Hampshire held a 29-27 edge with 5:15 to play when it used a 10-2 rush – powered by six from Wallace and four from senior Ugo Nwachukwu (Imo State, Nigeria) – to seize a 39-29 advantage with 2:41 on the clock. The Penmen would go into the break with a 39-31 lead.
• Bentley scored the first seven points of the second half to trim its deficit to one less than two minutes in, but could not get over the hump until going in front, 51-50, with 11:25 remaining. After the Falcons went up by three, a 13-3 rush – led by six from Wallace and five from senior T.J. Morris (Jamaica, N.Y.) – put the Penmen back on top, 63-56, with 7:39 left.
• SNHU led, 70-65, with under a minute to play, when five straight from Bentley tied it with 20 seconds on the clock. The Penmen would miss a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to send it to overtime.
• In the first extra session, the Falcons would score seven straight to go up 78-72 with 2:18 left, but SNHU responded by scoring 10 of the next 14, including eight from Morris, to knot the score at 82-all with 14 seconds on the clock. Bentley would come up empty on a 3-point attempt at the end of the period.
• The Penmen were clinging to an 88-86 lead with 90 seconds to go in the second overtime when Wallace buried a triple to spark a 7-2 spurt that made it 95-88 with 21 seconds left. Wallace had all seven during the stretch that all but sealed it.

NOTES

• Wallace's 48 points are both a program and NE10 Championship record. He topples a 52-year-old school record, topping the 47 scored by Fred Petty against Windham on Feb. 5, 1974, while also establishing a new mark for any round of the NE10 postseason, eclipsing the 47 scored by Assumption University's Drew Adderly against Stonehill College on March 7, 1992.
• Wallace finished 19-for-37 from the field, including 6-for-13 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-7 at the line. He also collected a career-best nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. The 37 field goal attempts are also a new school mark, erasing Petty's 34 from the same 1974 contest. Without a 3-point line, Petty made a program-record 22 baskets in that game.
• Southern New Hampshire has now won seven of its last eight, including five straight.
• SNHU improves to 30-16 (.652) all-time in its 21st appearance in the NE10 Championship, including 5-2 against Bentley. The Penmen knocked the Falcons out in the semifinals with a 58-56 home win last season. This was the first NE10 postseason meeting at Bentley since SNHU earned the NE10 crown in 2016 with a 90-87 triumph.
• The Penmen have now won eight consecutive NE10 tournament games, setting a new league record. American International College (1984-86) and Saint Anselm (1995-97, 2005-07) previously captured seven straight.
• Southern New Hampshire is now 4-0 in overtime in the NE10 postseason, as it plays its first double-OT game in the tournament. It is the league's first multiple-OT contest since the University of New Haven outlasted Stonehill College, 101-100, in a triple-OT semifinal in 2020. It is just the fifth NE10 Championship game to last more than a single overtime period in the history of the tournament, which has been played since 1981.
• SNHU advances to the NE10 Championship semifinals for the fourth straight season – the first time that has happened in program history. The Penmen went to three consecutive semis from 2003-05 and again from 2015-17.
• The Penmen will take on sixth-seeded Saint Michael's College in the semifinal round. SMC won two of the three regular season meetings, including a 78-71 non-conference home win back on Nov. 25. SNHU captured the most recent tilt between the two – a 63-58 contest at Saint Michael's on Feb. 4. The Penmen are also 2-0 all-time against the Purple Knights in the NE10 postseason, with the most recent meeting resulting in a 97-65 semifinal road victory for SNHU on March 6, 2024. The Penmen went on to win their first of two straight NE10 titles.
• Nwachukwu posted 18 points (5-10 FG, 3-3 3-FG, 5-6 FT) and 12 rebounds. It is his 11th double-double of the season and 15th of his career.
• Morris added 17 points (6-13 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 3-8 FT), four rebounds and four assists.
• Redshirt junior Jahshawne Joseph (Malvern, Ont.) notched eight points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3-FG) and seven boards.
• Bentley leads the all-time series with SNHU, 35-34. While the teams have split the last 36 meetings, the Penmen have now won five of the last six, including two straight. SNHU posted a 67-64 victory at Bentley just three days ago in the regular-season finale to help secure the seventh and final spot in the NE10 Championship. SNHU won two of the three regular-season meetings, including a split of two home games early on. The Penmen have captured four of the last five, including three-in-a-row at Bentley, which has not defended its home court versus SNHU since Feb. 7, 2024 (75-60).
• Wallace has scored in double figures in all 28 contests this season and continues to lead the NE10 in scoring (24.7 ppg). Wallace has now netted 20-plus points in 15 straight and is averaging 27.5 ppg during the stretch, which includes nine performances of 27 or more. He has also scored 30-plus in four of the last six (32.5 ppg).

WHAT'S NEXT

• The seventh-seeded Penmen travel to sixth-seeded Saint Michael's College for an NE10 Championship semifinal contest Wednesday, March 4. Tip-off time is still being decided.