Penmen Defeat Owls 75-60 to Win Program's 3rd NE10 Title.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team won the Northeast-10 Conference Final for the third time in program history, and first since 2016, thanks to a 75-60 victory over Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 5-seeded Penmen (21-10) took down the No. 6-seeded Owls (22-10) in front of a packed Stan Spirou Field House, locking down the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II postseason.
Graduate Student Matt Becht was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, averaging 22 points per game across the four postseason contests for SNHU. In the semifinals he had 33 points, six rebounds, three assists, and eight three pointers made to help SNHU defeat top-seeded Saint Michael's. On Saturday, he scored 15 points with six rebounds and two assists to help the Penmen to victory.
Senior Preston Santos was also recognized on the conference's All-Tournament Team. Santos scored a team-best 20 points with nine rebounds, three blocks, and four steals.
The 2024 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show is slated to air on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 11 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Penmen were ranked No. 3 in the latest iteration of the official East Region rankings, trailing Saint Michael's, who they defeated in the NE10 Semifinals, and St. Thomas Aquinas.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Southern New Hampshire held a two-point lead nearly 11-and-a-half minutes in when it ripped off a 15-4 run – with six from Becht and four from Derrick Grant Jr. – to open its largest lead of the first half at 27-14 with 5:34 remaining. Southern Connecticut countered with an 11-4 stretch to pull within 31-25 with 1:41 on the clock. SNHU would go into the locker room with a 33-27 advantage.
The Penmen stormed out of the locker room with another 15-4 blitz – with seven from Santos and four from Kurtis Henderson – to extend their lead to 48-31 a little more than five minutes into the second half. SCSU trimmed its deficit to 12 at the midway mark of the second stanza when SNHU netted nine straight – with five from Becht and four from senior Noah Kamba – to seize its largest lead of the contest at 61-40 with 7:26 to play. The Owls scored 18 of the next 26 points to climb within 11 at 69-58 with a little over two minutes to go, but the Penmen made all four of their free throws to extend their lead late.
Juniors Kurtis Henderson and Derrick Grant Jr. joined Santos and Becht as double digit scorers. Henderson had 16 points six rebounds, and four assists. Grant Jr. added 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Southern New Hampshire outshot Southern Connecticut, 44.3 percent (27-61) to 32.8 percent (19-58), while the Owls were better from deep, 34.6 percent to 30 percent. SCSU also held a 72.2 percent to 71.4 percent edge from the line. The Penmen dominated the glass (45-29) and paint (38-18), scored more points off turnovers (16-4) and featured a slightly more impressive assist-to-turnover ratio (12/14-10/14). The Owls owned an edge in bench scoring (10-9). Second chance points (13-13) and fast break scoring (6-6) were even.
Southern New Hampshire, which reaches 21 wins for the second straight year, has won eight of its last 10, including a season-high seven-in-a-row. The Penmen improve to 26-16 all-time in the NE10 Championship, including 2-2 against Southern Connecticut. SNHU captures its third NE10 title (2013, 2016) in its sixth trip to the finals (2003, 2004, 2013, 2016, 2017). The Penmen also hoisted the NE10 Championship trophy at home for the first time, having lost their only previous NE10 final at the Stan Spirou Field House back in 2017.
SNHU leads the all-time series with SCSU, 59-25, and has won seven of the last eight, including six straight. The Penmen have won six-in-a-row at home, with the Owls last winning at the Field House on Jan. 7, 2015 (75-70). The Penmen swept the regular season series against the Owls with an 84-71 home triumph Jan. 13 and an 82-70 road victory Feb. 21.
This marks the second conference crown for SNHU head coach Jack Perri, who captured a Northeast Conference (NEC) title in his first year as head coach at Long Island University Brooklyn in 2013. Perri has won 180 career games, including 83 in five seasons at SNHU.
-Recap provided by SNHU athletic communications-
Elite 24 Award:
Luke Bramanti, Southern New Hampshire
All-Championship Team
Matt Becht, Southern New Hampshire*
Preston Santos, Southern New Hampshire
Josh McGettigan, Southern Connecticut
Marty Silvera, Southern Connecticut
Tyler Arbuckle, Saint Anselm
*Most Outstanding Player
NE10 MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – Friday, March 1st:
Game 1: #5 Southern New Hampshire 105, #12 Franklin Pierce 76
Game 2: #6 Southern Connecticut 84, #11 AIC 80 (OT)
Game 3: #7 Saint Anselm 83, #10 New Haven 69
Game 4: #8 Assumption 100, #9 Saint Rose 84
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 3rd:
Game 5: #1 Saint Michaels 70, #8 Assumption 67
Game 6: #7 Saint Anselm 80, #2 Adelphi 71
Game 7: #6 Southern Connecticut 88, #3 Bentley 78
Game 8: #5 Southern New Hampshire 83, #4 Pace 76
Semifinals – Wednesday, March 6th (at highest remaining seeds):
Game 9: #5 Southern New Hampshire 97, #1 Saint Michael's 65
Game 10: #6 Southern Connecticut 82, #7 Saint Anselm 73
Championship – Saturday, March 9th (at highest remaining seed):
Game 11: #5 Southern New Hampshire 75, #6 Southern Connecticut 60
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 12 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
