COLCHESTER, Vt. - The 24th-ranked Saint Michael's College men's basketball team lost to regionally-ranked Southern New Hampshire University, 82-75, on Tuesday evening in the Ross Sports Center. Despite the setback, the Purple Knights remain in first place in the Northeast-10 Conference by one game.
 
Saint Michael's was 24th in this week's D2CSC national poll while receiving votes toward the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national rankings, and is second in the D2CSC East Region poll. The Penmen were eighth in the most recent D2CSC East Region standings.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (15-5, 11-3 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (13-6, 9-5 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 27 points (career high), 5 rebounds, 9-for-15 field goals, 7-for-10 three-pointers
• Sophomore Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass./Brooks School), 15 points, 7 assists, 4 steals
• Junior Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 5-for-10 field goals, 3-for-5 three-pointers
• Senior Romar Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Woodstock Academy/Manhattan), 12 points

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Preston Santos, 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 9-for-11 field goals
• Graduate student Matt Becht, 19 points, 4 assists, 5-for-11 three-pointers
• Junior Kurtis Henderson, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
• Graduate student Alex Rivera, 10 points, 2 steals

GAME FACTS

• Crews scored 11 points in his first four minutes off the bench before scoring 23 in only 13 first-half minutes.
• The Purple Knights suffered just their second loss in seven games against regionally-ranked foes.

THE ACTION

• Santos had a pair of baskets as the Penmen grabbed a 6-0 lead by 15:47 of the opening half, but sophomore Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy) and Yepdo both knocked down threes to tie the game 50 seconds later, and the teams remained within one possession of another until the midway point of the period.
• Crews entered the game at 13:09, with the Purple Knights down 8-6. By the time he buried a three with 3:48 left to give the hosts a 36-25 lead, he had scored 23 of 30 Saint Michael's points himself, shooting 8-of-9 overall, including 6-for-7 from deep.
• Duniver's three still had the Purple and Gold up 39-28 with 2:06 to go, but the Penmen scored 11 straight points in a run that bridged halftime. Santos scored five, tying the game on a three 42 seconds into the second half.
• Yepdo's jumper at 17:28 produced a 46-42 lead for the hosts, but neither team exceeded that advantage until Henderson hit a trey with 6:13 left that put the Penmen up 65-60.
• Reid's three from the corner tied the game at 3:58, but Becht responded with a pair of threes 20 seconds apart to put Southern New Hampshire ahead by a 71-65 count at 3:14.
• The hosts came no closer than four points down the stretch, as the Penmen iced the win by shooting 8-of-10 on free throws in the final 1:14.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at regionally-ranked Pace University, 3:30 p.m.
• The Setters are seventh in this week's D2CSC East Region poll.