STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Becht – 22 points (7-17 FG, 6-10 3-FG, 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds
• Senior Preston Santos (Providence, R.I.) – 14 points (6-14 FG, 2-4 3-FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• junior Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) – 12 points (3-6 FG, 2-2 3-FG, 4-4 FT), 4 rebounds
• Senior Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.) – 10 points (3-7 FG, 3-4 3-FG, 1-2 FT)
• Junior Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) 9 points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3-FG, 4-4 FT), 3 assists, 2 rebounds
• Graduate student Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) – 8 points (3-8 FG, 2-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists

KEY MOMENTS

• After Franklin Pierce scored the first bucket, Southern New Hampshire went on a 10-2 run – powered by five points from Santos – to take a 10-4 lead nearly three-and-a-half minutes in. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Kamba later in the half carried an 8-0 stretch that give SNHU its largest lead of the half of the game at 25-14 just past the midway point.
• FPU scored nine straight at one point as part of an 18-3 barrage that flipped it into the lead at 37-32 with 2:51 on the clock. The Ravens would bring a 40-36 advantage to the break.
• Santos came out of the locker room on fire, scoring seven straight to spark a 10-2 run that put SNHU back in front, 46-42 less than three minutes in. The gap was two more than seven minutes into the second half when back-to-back Becht triples and a 3 from Brathwaite made up a 9-1 blitz that gave SNHU a 61-51 lead with 10:36 to go.
• The margin was seven with a little more then a minute on the clock when FPU scored 10 of the next 14 to pull within 79-78 with seven seconds left. Becht sank a pair of free throws with 3.7 ticks on the clock and the Penmen escaped after an empty final possession for the hosts.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Junior Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) posted two points (2-2 FT), seven rebounds and three assists.
• Sophomore Royce Williams (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in two points (1-1 FG), two rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Franklin Pierce narrowly outshot Southern New Hampshire, 41 percent (25-61) to 40.6 percent (26-64), while SNHU returned the favor from behind the arc, 50 percent (14-28) to 39.4 percent (13-33). SNHU also shot it better from the line, 83.3 percent (15-18) to 78.9 percent (15-19) from the stripe.
• The Penmen narrowly captured the glass (38-37), scored more point off turnovers (12-10), received more scoring from their bench (26-24) and featured a better assist-to-turnover ratio (16/10-14/10), while the Ravens scored more second chance points (11-10) and more points on the fast break (7-6). Points in the paint were even (18-18).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire has won four of its last six, including two straight.
• SNHU leads the all-time series with Franklin Pierce, 75-30, and has won five-in-a-row. The last FPU win came Dec. 4, 2021 in an 87-83 home overtime win. While the Ravens have won three of the last five meetings in Rindge, the Penmen now captured two straight.
• Following a 64-59 win at home Nov. 18, the Penmen sweep the regular-season series from the Ravens for the second straight year.
• Grant, who was a 59 percent free throw shooter last season, started this campaign 15 of 24 (62.5%) from the line over his first six games, but has since gone 34-for-42 (81%) over his last 12, including 15-for-16 (93.8%) in the last five.
• After scoring 10 total points through the first three games of the year, Santos is averaging 11.2 ppg over his last 12 and has scored in double figures nine times, including six straight.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Tuesday (Jan. 30) at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Saint Michael's College.
• The next home contest for SNHU is Saturday, Feb. 3 (3:30 p.m.) when it plays host to the University of New Haven at the Stan Spirou Field House.