Penmen Nearly Script Major Upset
By Chris Granozio
EVANSVILLE, IN - Seventh-seeded Southern New Hampshire threw a massive scare into second-seeded and #1 ranked Nova Southeastern (FL) in quarterfinal action of the NCAA D2 Tournament Tuesday afternoon, 68-60. The Penmen - who entered the game riding a 10-game winning streak and program-record seven straight postseason triumphs - led the entire first half and took a 42-28 lead into the break. They expanded it to 45-28 shortly after the restart before the defending national champions rallied, eventually taking their first lead at 56-54 on the strength of a 28-9 run. The Penmen - who were playing in the Elite-8 for an East Region-record eighth time - knotted the score on a pair of Matt Becht free throws with 4:08 to play. But it would be all Sharks after that as they Trey Doomes converted a go-ahead 3-point play with 3:17 left, kicking off a 12-4, game-ending flourish (40-15 over the final 18:54) despite SNHU limiting NSU to season lows in shooting (33%) and scoring (68, over 33 points below their season average). The game was won at the foul line (NSU 28-38, SNHU 11-15) and in the turnover department (21-11) as the Sharks punished the Penmen 27-5 in mistake points, offsetting an 11-4 disparity in 3-pointers. Becht totaled 18 points and Noah Kamba 12 on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc to lead SNHU, while Isaiah Fuller and Mike Moore offered 11 apiece to pace Nova Southeastern.
This marks the third straight first-round exit for the Penmen - and second straight against Sunshine State Conference teams (the last to eventual national champion Florida Southern on the same Ford Center floor in 2015), as the East Region extends its national championship drought to a D2-long 36 years dating back to Lowell's championship in 1988. And it's now a 20-year dry spell since one of our teams advanced to the championship game - Bryant vs. Virginia Union in North Dakota back in 2005. Ironically, the last East Region team to win a game here at the Elite-8 was the other Manchester, NH school, St. Anselm, which ousted - you guessed it - Nova Southeastern in 2019. SNHU last reached the national semifinals in 1994, falling to Southern Indiana in Springfield, 111-89 after defeating Alabama A&M, 90-80. That was their second straight "Final Four" appearance, both representing program bests. The Penmen, who fell to the Sharks for the first time in three all-time meetings (last in 2000), are now 31-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 2-8 at the Elite-8. Nova Southeastern improves to 97-3 over its last 100 games and will play sixth-seeded Cal State-San Bernardino, in Thursday's national semifinals. The Coyotes - who start former Penmen guard Evan Guillory at the point - knocked off third-seeded an #3 Gannon, 99-65, in the day's first quarterfinal, ending the Golden Knights' 21-game winning streak.
More on the Elite-8 later in the week, and be on the lookout for my last Rim Shots column of the season, which will include some Courtside Confidential fodder available exlusively to our Patreon subscribers. The link is: www.patreon.com/D2easthoops. You can also email me with any questions or comments at chrisgranozio@gmail.com. Happy Hooping to All!