MANCHESTER, NH – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team silenced a late scoring surge by host Southern New Hampshire University by converting some key free throws down the stretch to earn a 76-72 Northeast-10 Conference victory at the SNHU Fieldhouse this evening. In the process, the Golden Knights (6-9/4-6 NE-10) won their first road contest of the season after dropping their previous six to begin the 2008-09 campaign.

Saint Rose led by double-digits for much of the game, but found itself up just three, 73-70 with one minute remaining. Both squads came up empty on their next possession, forcing the Penmen (8-7/4-6 NE-10) to foul with 28 seconds on the clock. Freshman guard Shea Bromirski buried both of his double bonus attempts and junior forward Malcolm Williams went 1-for-2 with six seconds remaining to provide the final margin for the Golden Knights.

SNHU trailed 40-29 at the break and was down by as many as 16, 64-48, following a layup by Saint Rose junior guard Brian Ledbetter. The Penmen responded with a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to cut their deficit to seven, 68-61. SNHU further made things interesting by holding the Golden Knights without a field goal for the final 3:13 and Saint Rose did not help itself by hitting only 5-of-10 shots from the foul line throughout the final two minutes.

Regardless, the Golden Knights shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the floor just two days after registering their best shooting percentage of the year (52.8%) in an 81-70 loss versus UMass Lowell. Furthermore, Saint Rose placed five starters in double-figures scoring and generated a 42-30 margin in the paint.

Williams and senior forward Josh Pelletier finished with 13 points apiece for the Golden Knights, while senior forward Evan Lane added his second “double-double” of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bromirski wound up with 11 points, three boards and three assists and junior guard Jermaine Clark hit twin-figures for the 11th time this year with 10 points.

Sophomore guard Tory Stapelton tossed in a game-high 18 points for the Penmen in 22 minutes of reserve action. Senior guard Gerald Carter contributed 16 points and seven caroms, while fellow senior guard Troy Bowen filled up the box score with 11 points, nine boards and seven assists.

Saint Rose returns home for a pair of league contests next week in Albany. The Golden Knights are first scheduled to entertain Franklin Pierce University at 7:30 pm Wednesday at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. Meanwhile, SNHU will spend the next seven days preparing for a trip to Assumption College next Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 pm in Worcester, MA. 

Box Score