Manchester, N.H. (February 25) -- On Tuesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse, the Assumption College men's basketball team dropped a 71-62 final to Southern New Hampshire University in the 2013-2014 season finale.

Assumption got off to an early 5-2 advantage after a layup from freshman Marcus Murray (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) with 16:31 left in the first. Over the next 5:16 however, it was all Penmen as a Mike Stys three-pointer ignited a 14-0 run that was capped by a jumper from sophomore Rodney Sanders to stake the hosts to a 16-5 lead.

Trailing 17-7 after an SNHU free throw with 10:31 left, the Hounds went on a 6-1 run that was capped by a three from senior Emiliano Void (Montreal, Quebec/Lockeport Regional) to cut the lead to 18-13 with 8:35 on the clock. Sanders again put the Penmen up double figures with a three at the 6:50 mark for the 25-13 lead, but the Hounds kept chipping away and eventually pulled within five at 28-23 after a three from sophomore Chris Fitzgerald (Somerset, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon).

After forcing a turnover on the next possession, sophomore Tim Kasper (Cologne, Germany/Gymnasium Schloss Hagerhof) scored on a left side layup before C.J. Marriro answered with a free throw to keep it at 29-25 Penmen with 2:14 left. Murray knocked down a pair of free throws at the 1:51 mark, followed by a layup with 44 seconds in the half to tie the game at 29-29. After a missed corner three-point attempt by SNHU's Phillip Tripodakis was off the mark, Murray rebounded the ball and called timeout with 14.7 seconds left. Fitzgerald knocked down his second three of the half with just two seconds remaining to send the Hounds into the halftime break with the 32-29 lead.

Assumption shot 52.4 percent from the field in the half and 62.5 percent from three, hitting 5-of-8 from deep. The Hounds held a slight 15-12 edge in rebounding while holding the Penmen to 43.5 percent shooting from the field in the first period. Murray led the Hounds with 11 points and three assists in the half, while Sanders paced the Penmen with a 10-point period.

The Hounds extended the lead out to five twice in the early minutes of the second before a Sanders three-pointer with 16:37 remaining tied the game at 36-36. SNHU lengthened the run out to 11-0 over just a three minute span and seemingly gained control at 42-36 with 14:21 on the clock.

Assumption answered with a three-minute scoring run of its own with a 10-0 spurt, capped off by a three from Fitzgerald for the 47-42 edge. The Penmen pulled within 46-44 at the midway point of the period, but the Hounds still had a chance to make it a two-possession game again. Two layup chances fell away though and SNHU took advantage as Stys drilled a three to put the Penmen in front 47-46. Three straight Kasper points, including a turnaround jumper in the land with 8:10 left, gave the visitors the lead again at 49-47.

SNHU tied the game for the final time at 49-49 before the Hounds took their final lead at 50-49 on a free throw from freshman Reilly Reid (Mississauga, Ontario/Lorne Park Secondary School). Marriro gave the hosts the lead for good on a layup at 6:24 as SNHU led by eight at 66-58 with two minutes left after a pair of free throws from Marriro. With 53.3 seconds left, the Hounds pulled within four on a layup from junior captain Jimmy Zenevitch (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic), but would get no closer in an eventual nine-point final.

Murray led all scorers with 20 points and a team-best seven assists, along with 14 points from Fitzgerald. Sanders led four Penmen starters in double figures with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field.

The Hounds shot 44.7 percent from the field in the game, including knocking down eight three-pointers. On the other side, the Penmen connected for 48.9 percent shooting overall with nine threes.

With the loss, the Hounds finish the season at 7-19 overall and 5-16 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen finish the regular season 15-10 overall and 12-9 in the league.

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