WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore Njavan Stewart (Newton Upper Falls, Mass. and junior Isiah Gaiter (Meriden, Conn.) combined for 44 points in leading the Assumption University men's basketball team to a 73-64 victory over Southern New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Laska Gymnasium.

The beginning of the game remained close with both teams electing to primarily rely on the long ball to find success offensively. Junior Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass.) opened the scoring with a trifecta, and senior Omar El Sheikh (Giza, Egypt) hit a long two to give the Greyhounds an early 5-2 edge.

After the Penmen tied the score at 5-all on a Corry Long 3-pointer, the Greyhounds then burst ahead by scoring seven unanswered with Stewart leading the charge.

Southern New Hampshire (11-7, NE-10 7-6) started to come back and cut the deficit down to a single possession by the midway point of the opening half, but the Greyhounds were able to stay ahead by converting from both long range and down low. A dunk by Cooper Creek (Merredin, Australia) made it 17-9, and by also holding their opponent to a cold 25 percent shooting in the stanza, the hosts carried a 23-19 advantage into the break.

Even though the Penmen kept it close throughout the second half, the Greyhounds were able to keep them at bay to start. A 3-pointer by graduate student Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md.) made it 35-26 with 15:23 remaining, but the visitors responded with a big 12-4 run to slash the margin down to a single point at 39-38 on a Brenden Choate jumper at the 11:54 mark. The Penmen continued to chip away and took their first lead of the game, 43-40, when Brenden Choate grabbed an offensive rebound and found Matt Becht for a trifecta from the left corner.

Assumption, however, quickly fought back and responded with a 9-2 run of its own to regain control. Creek nailed a 3-pointer to put the Greyhounds back on top and then slammed home a dunk in transition to put the hosts ahead, 49-45, and force the Penmen to take a timeout.

Southern New Hampshire tied the game at 49-all with 7:10 remaining on back-to-back layups by Noah Kamba and Jordan Brathwaite, but the Greyhounds never surrendered the lead again. Glover broke the deadlock with a 3-pointer off a feed from Kelly, and another trifecta by Stewart put a stamp on the nine-point victory.

Assumption was led by Gaiter and Stewart in its fifth conference victory of the season. Gaiter registered 21 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, while Stewart poured in 23 points by shooting 8-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from long range, and 2-of-3 from the line. El Sheikh corralled 12 rebounds.

Long paced Southern New Hampshire with a game-high 25 points. He also pulled down eight boards and dished out a team-leading four assists. Kamba and Brathwaite combined for 22 points off the bench.

Assumption (9-9, NE-10 5-9) will next travel to face Saint Michael's on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.