MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team rallied for a last-minute lead before withstanding Southern New Hampshire University's missed shot just before the buzzer to hold on for a 63-62 victory in Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday evening in Spirou Field House.
 
In a match-up between teams ranked in this week's D2CSC East Region poll, the Purple Knights extended their winning streak to four games. Saint Michael's is tied for 10th in the rankings, while the Penmen are sixth and also received votes toward the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) national poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-1, 3-0 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (4-2, 2-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy), 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6-for-15 field goals, 3 three-pointers
• Sophomore Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass./Brooks School), 13 points, 5 assists, 7-for-9 free throws
• Senior Romar Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Woodstock Academy/Manhattan), 9 points, 3 steals, 3-for-6 field goals
• Junior Jhamyl Fricas (Lawrence, Mass./Worcester Academy/Connors State), 9 points, 4 rebounds
• Junior Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• Sophomore Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago), 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3-for-4 field goals

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Kurtis Henderson, 19 points, 3-for-5 three-pointers
• Graduate student Matt Becht, 15 points, 5-for-7 three-pointers
• Junior Derrick Grant Jr., 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Graduate student Alex Rivera, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's downed the Penmen for the first time since Feb. 6, 2019, while winning at Southern New Hampshire for the first time since Nov. 16, 2011.
• The Purple and Gold held key leads in rebounding (41-34) and shooting (40.4%-35.5%).
• Brzezinski secured his second career double-double.
• The contest featured two of the final four teams with spotless NE10 records.
• Saint Michael's is 3-0 in NE10 play for the first time since 2006-07, when it started 4-0.
• Neither team led by more than eight points, as they played through 14 lead changes and eight ties.

THE ACTION

• Brzezinski buried his second three-pointer in a matter of 32 seconds to give Saint Michael's a 17-10 lead at 11:21 of the first half before Southern New Hampshire countered with a 19-4 run, when six players scored.
• After the Penmen took a 34-26 lead into halftime, Brzezinski hit a triple to cap a 10-2 stretch that put the Purple Knights up 40-39 at 13:05 of the second stanza.
• The hosts scored the next seven points, and Becht drilled a trey at 5:13 to provide the Penmen a 57-49 advantage.
• Yepdo scored the final nine Purple Knight points of a 10-1 response, putting his team in the lead (59-58) with a pair of free throws with 1:36 remaining.
• That proved to be the first of five lead swings in a 1:08 span, as Henderson sandwiched a lay-in (1:13) and two free throws (35.5) around Reid's go-ahead freebies (58.7).
• Yepdo gave Saint Michael's the final lead with two more from the charity stripe at 28.1 seconds before the Penmen missed a go-ahead bucket with 12 seconds to go.
• The visitors missed a pair of ensuing free throws, but a Penman, closely guarded by Brzezinski, missed a game-winning lay-up in the dying seconds, and Brzezinski grabbed the clinching rebound as time ran out.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. No. 19 Pace University, 3:30 p.m.
• The Setters' national ranking is according to D2CSC.