VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) poured in a career-high 20 points as Southern New Hampshire University erased a 15-point first-half deficit to post a 77-62 win over C.W. Post in men's basketball Thursday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Penmen won their third in a row to improve to 5-5 overall, while the Pioneers are now 4-6 on the season.

DeSantis went 7-15 from the floor and 4-7 behind the arc while also handing out four assists to lead four Penmen in double figures.  Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) grabbed all 11 of his rebounds in the second half as he finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Cory Vejraska (Alachua, Fla.) went 3-3 behind the arc and totaled 16 points and eight rebounds.  C.J. Marriro (Boston, Mass.) added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Jonathan Kohler led five C.W. Post players in double figures with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Billy Butler totaled 11 points, while Tobin Carberry, Aaron Hall and Stefan Bonneau each finished with 10 points apiece.

Southern New Hampshire took its first lead since early in the ballgame a minute into the second half when Vejraska knocked down a three.  The Penmen would use a 12-5 run capped by a Marriro putback with 13:36 left to take an 11-point lead, 56-45.  The Pioneers countered with a 8-1 spurt and a three by Butler with 9:25 left made it a 57-53 game.

The hosts used a 9-2 run to reclaim an 11-point lead, 67-56 on a DeSantis three with 5:37 remaining.  The Pioneers made one last run, scoring six unanswered points to pull within five on a pair of Deshawn Gibbons free throws with just under four minutes to go.  Southern New Hampshire closed out the game on a 10-0 run, holding CWP without a field goal for the game's final 4:22.

The two teams traded the lead twice early before C.W. Post used a 15-2 run capped by a Hall layup 6:20 into the game to build a 21-6 lead.  SNHU chipped away at the lead, scoring 12 of the game's next 13 points to make it 22-18 with 6:09 to go on a basket by DeSantis.  The guests opened up a 30-21 lead with 2:44 left on a conventional three-point play by Butler, but the Penmen closed the half on an 11-4 run and a NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer by DeSantis made it 34-32 in favor of C.W. Post at halftime.

Southern New Hampshire outrebounded C.W. Post 44-37 and had a 21-5 advantage in second chance points on the evening.  The Penmen limited the Pioneers to just 36.5% shooting from the floor and went 18-26 at the free throw line while CWP was 11-15.  The hosts also went 9-23 behind the arc while the Pioneers connected on just five of their 16 three-point attempts.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Sunday, January 2, when it travels to Franklin Pierce University for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.