When and Where: November 12, 2021 – Caldwell, N.J. (Corino Court)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 67, Caldwell University 58
Records: SNHU 1-0, Caldwell 0-1
Sophomore
Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) netted 19 points and knocked down six treys, while freshman
Aaron Gray (Providence, R.I.) notched a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, to lead the Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team to a 67-58 victory against Caldwell University in its season opener Friday evening at Corino Court.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Becht – 19 points (6-12 FG, 6-12 3-FG, 1-2 FT), 5 rebounds
- Gray – 16 points (5-11 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 5-8 FT), 12 rebounds
- Senior Corry Long (Cincinnati, Ohio) – 11 points (5-12 FG, 1-3 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire opened the game on a balanced 12-2 run that featured five different scorers over the opening six-and-a-half minutes. The Penmen used a 14-4 blitz later in the stanza – with six points from Kamba – to crack open a 26-10 advantage with 7:17 to play. Caldwell countered with a 12-2 run down the stretch before junior Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) buried a 3 prior to the buzzer to send the Penmen to the break with a 33-24 lead.
- SNHU carried that momentum into the second half, with a pair of Becht triples making up a 10-0 run to begin the period and hand the Penmen their largest lead of the contest at 43-24 just 1:40 in. Caldwell would whittle its deficit down and get as close as five with 2:29 remaining, but six straight – highlighted by a Becht trey – made it 64-53 and all but sealed it with 1:16 on the clock.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kamba tallied eight points (3-7 FG, 1-2 3-FG, 1-2 FT), three rebounds and two assists.
- Sophomore Jacari Sanders (San Antonio, Texas) scored six points (2-10 FG, 2-4 FT) and set career highs in both assists (9) and steals (7).
- Layman chipped in five points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3-FG), four boards and a pair of blocks.
- SNHU outshot Caldwell, 38.1 percent (24-63) to 35.3 percent (24-68), including 36 percent (9-25) to 23.8 percent (5-21) from beyond the arc.
- The Penmen were also plus-5 from the line, while the Cougars shot it better, 62.5 percent (5-8) to 47.6 percent (10-21).
- SNHU dominated in points off turnovers (23-2) and points on the fast break (16-5), in addition to featuring a more impressive assist-to-turnover ratio (13/12-8/19), while Caldwell owned advantages on the glass (50-41), in points in the paint (36-28), bench scoring (25-10) and second chance points (18-7).
NOTES
- Southern New Hampshire captures its opener for the 14th straight season.
- Sanders' seven steals were one shy of the school record, which was originally set by John Burrus on Nov. 29, 1981 and has been matched four times since – most recently by John Baiano on Nov. 19, 2005.
WHAT'S NEXT
- The Penmen return to action Saturday (Nov. 13) at 6 p.m. when they wrap up the Caldwell tournament against Bloomfield College.
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