THE BASICS
-Score: Assumption College 87, Southern New Hampshire University 86
-Records: Assumption (4-1, NE10 1-0), SNHU (4-1, NE10 1-1)
-Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laksa Gymnasium)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team held off the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in a Northeast-10 Conference battle on Saturday afternoon. In a game that saw 10 ties and 24 lead changes the Greyhounds captured the one-point victory with just seconds to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Greyhounds and the Penmen traded baskets over the first three minutes before junior guard Michael Almonacy made a three-pointer to put the visitors ahead by four, 11-7, at the 16:04 mark. The Hounds responded with threes from junior point guard Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) and senior guard Patrick Fleming (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. / Iona Prep) to take over the lead, 13-11.
-The Penmen pulled ahead by five, 25-20, with 8:21 to play, when senior forward Eamonn Joyce started a seven-point run with a basket from behind the arc. The Greyhounds came back within one with a three from sophomore forward Cal Connelly (Rochester, N.H. / Spaulding / Tilton) with 5:07 on the clock, 29-28. The hosts regained the lead on layups by red-shirt junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) and Kelly with just over three minutes to go in the first, 34-33.
-The Penmen used a three from sophomore Mike Buscetto, a layup, and a made free throw, to take a 39-36 lead heading into the halftime break.
-Brown, Fleming, and first year Saxon Thompson (Allen, Texas / The Episcopal School of Dallas / Wilbraham & Monson Acad.) all put up eight points for Assumption in the first 20 minutes. Joyce led SNHU with 10 points in the first half while senior Shawn Montague grabbed six rebounds for the visitors.
-Brown tied the game at 41-41 when he made a three-point play with a drive to the basket and a made free throw just two minutes into the second half. After trading baskets over the next six minutes of play, the Greyhounds were able to pull ahead by seven on a three-pointer by first year Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass. / Catholic Memorial / Bridgton Academy) and a drive to the hoop by Connelly at the 12:27 mark (57-50). After the Penmen responded with a three by Almonacy, Brown followed up with a three of his own to keep Assumption ahead by seven (60-53).
-SNHU came back within one with another basket from behind the arc by Almonacy, but Thompson struck again from three-point range to put the Hounds up by four, 70-66. Almonacy stayed hot as he tied the game at 70 with a layup and sophomore Justyn Lacy gave the visitors back the lead with a three at the 5:34 mark (75-73).
-The Penmen pulled ahead by as many as six with just over a minute to play before Assumption closed out the game on a 3-0 run with a layup by Brown, a clutch three by senior Branislav Vujadinovic (Belgrade, Serbia / St. Joseph), and a game-winning layup by Kelly. SNHU was given one last offensive chance with 1.1 seconds on the clock, but the Greyhounds' defense held strong to clinch the NE10 victory, 87-86.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Brown led Assumption with 20 points and seven rebounds on the day. Fleming added 13 points, four assists, and two steals. Glover came off the bench with 12 points as he went 4-for-6 from three-point range. Connelly, Vujadinovic, and Thompson all finished with 11 points as six Greyhounds put up double figures in the victory. Kelly finished with a game-leading five assists.
-Almonacy led SNHU with 20 points while Jacari Sanders came off the bench with 19 points for the visitors. Joyce added 14 points in the setback and Montague rounded out double-digit scoring with 10 points to go along with a team-leading 10 rebounds for the Penmen.
-SNHU outrebounded Assumption 41-28 while the Greyhounds forced 17 turnovers by the visitors and turned those into 11 points of their own.
-Assumption shot 42.8% from the field while SNHU shot 50.8%. The Hounds finished 42.2% from behind the arc while the Penmen shot 43.5% from three-point range. Assumption shot 70% (7-for-10) from the free-throw line while the visitors shot 64% (16-for-25).
UP NEXT
-The Hounds hit the road on Tuesday, October 26th to take on the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University at 7:30 p.m.
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