Northeast 10 quarterfinals: SNHU beats Franklin Pierce
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Feb. 26—MANCHESTER — The Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team is transparent with its game plan but that doesn't make it easier to beat the Penmen, Franklin Pierce University coach David Chadbourne said.
SNHU used its trademark smart, aggressive defensive approach to grind out a 58-51 Northeast 10 Conference quarterfinal victory over Franklin Pierce at Stan Spirou Field House on Sunday.
The regular-season champion and top-seeded Penmen (19-7) will host fourth-seeded New Haven (18-9) in the NE10 semifinals on Wednesday.
SNHU has won 16 of its past 17 games, including an 80-52 home triumph over the Chargers on Jan. 10, and allowed 62 or fewer points in each game during this stretch.
"There's a difference between being transparent and being able to stop it or score against them because they're a very good defensive team," Chadbourne, who just completed his 24th season leading Franklin Pierce, said of the Penmen.
SNHU had a 28-22 advantage after a first half that featured four ties and six lead changes. The Penmen led the entire second half.
The eighth-seeded Ravens (18-11) used a 7-2 run to trim SNHU's lead to 52-50 with 3:58 remaining. Franklin Pierce then missed its final six shots from the field and grabbed two offensive boards the rest of the way.
SNHU sophomore guard Evan Guillory nabbed a rebound following Sean Bresnan's second straight corner 3-pointer try with 2:58 left to preserve a 56-50 Penmen lead. Guillory, a University of Vermont transfer, also blocked an RJ Delahaye layup attempt with 2:25 left and dove for an offensive rebound before a timeout with 18.3 seconds left.
"We've got big guards that can make it difficult for guys to get their shot off," fifth-year SNHU coach Jack Perri said, "and the way we've really played with effort and discipline — not to foul and do some things that way — and bother them around the rim also, I think our guys took to the challenge and did a great job."
The Penmen won the rebound battle, 42-27. Chadbourne said he felt SNHU's 15-6 edge on offensive rebounds was the difference in the game.
"They're a really good rebounding team also," Perri said of the Ravens. "We knew that was going to be a challenge. We did a great job at their place (a 75-67 win on Feb. 7) ... and I think we took it to another level today and really won the glass just because of our focus and discipline."
SNHU graduate student Ryan Layman barely missed a double-double with nine points and game-high 14 rebounds.
Junior guard Matt Becht led SNHU in scoring with a game-high 21 points, nine of which came on 3-pointers. Guillory (14 points), and Ethan Okuosa (11 points) also tallied double-digit scoring outings for the Penmen.
Sean Trumper scored a team-high 14 points for Franklin Pierce. The Ravens also received 13 points from Mohamed Traore and 11 from Brandon Kolek.
"I think they are a very good basketball team that has a very strong identity defensively," Chadbourne said of the Penmen. "They know who they are and they're going to be hard to beat."
