full games notes (.pdf)

TODAY'S GAME
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team hosts the American International Yellow Jackets in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown from Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven. The action tips off at 3:30 p.m. The Owls enter the game with a record of 4-9 overall and 1-8 in conference play.

LAST TIME OUT
The Owls fell to Le Moyne on Thursday night by a score of 65-59. Junior guard Justin Gardenhire led three SCSU players in double figures with 15 points. Senior forward Ktrice McNeill tacked on 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Selected to finish seventh in the Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, and currently sitting in the ninth spot, American International enters the game at 7-7 overall and 4-5 in conference play. In their last outing, an 83-74 win over Le Moyne, Aikeem Vanderhorst led six Yellow Jackets in double figures with 24 points, as well as tying for the game-high with nine rebounds. On the season, Vanderhorst leads the way with 14.1 points per game. Colson Senat fronts the American International rebounding effort with 7.5 boards per game.

EARLIER THIS SEASON
In the first meeting between these two teams at American International on Dec. 8, Devon Sullivan posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Owls, and Ryan Leak netted a game-high 23 for the Yellow Jackets, who took the win by a score of 79-61. Ktrice McNeill scored a team-high 18 points for Southern Connecticut.

BREAKING DOWN THE RECORDS
Southern Connecticut is 1-8 in Northeast-10 Conference play this season. They are 1-4 in conference home games and 3-5 at home overall. American International is 4-5 in the Northeast-10. They have posted an 0-5 record in conference road games and a mark of 3-5 on the road overall.

HISTORY LESSON
American International leads the all-time series 37-21. The Yellow Jackets have claimed the last six meetings, with the Owls last victory coming on Jan. 22, 2005 by a score of 67-57.

LEADING THE SCORING ATTACK
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill leads the Southern Connecticut offense in the 2007-08 campaign with 14.3 points per game. He posted the game-high for the Owls in four consecutive games spanning Nov. 28 to Dec. 8, averaging 19.5 points per contest in that span. McNeill has scored in double figures in the Owls' last 11 games. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 82-for-132 (.621), slotting him at fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference. Most recently, McNeill scored 13 points against Le Moyne on Jan. 10.

DOUBLE DIGIT OWLS
Junior guard Justin Gardenhire is averaging double figures in his first season with the Owls with 11.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Trevor Harris is just above the double figures barrier with 10.2 points per contest.

A PAIR OF TWO-FERS
Sophomore center John Mazzarella established career highs with 11 points and 13 rebounds en route to his first career double-double in the Owls 89-70 win against Dominican on Dec. 28. The Wallingford, Conn. native shot 5-for-6 (.833) from the field and also blocked two shots in that game. Mazzarella's 13 rebounds matched the game-high for any Southern Connecticut player this season set by senior forward Devon Sullivan on Dec. 6 at Massachusetts-Lowell. Mazzarella picked up another double-double on Jan. 5 against Franklin Pierce, scoring 11 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and blocking four shots in the winning effort.

CAREER DAY
Junior guard Derrick Corbett led the Owls in scoring with a career-high 15 points in the team's victory over Franklin Pierce on Jan. 5. Corbett shot 5-for-9 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 performance from three-point range.

A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill led the Owls in scoring during the team's six games in December with an average of 18.2 points per contest. He also ranked second in rebounding behind Devon Sullivan with 6.2 boards per game. McNeill led the team in scoring four times in the month and claimed or shared the game-high in rebounds twice. For his efforts, the Bronx, N.Y. native was named to the Northeast-10 Weekly Honor Roll on three occasions, failing to make the list only for the week ending Dec. 16, a week in which the Owls did not play.

AN OFFENSIVE OUTBURST…
The Owls scored a season-high 89 points in their win over Dominican on Dec. 28. Junior forward Preston Bell led the offensive effort with a career-high 22 points. The Owls' previous season-high of 80 points came in the team's season opening loss to St. Anselm on Nov. 17. Southern Connecticut last scored 89 or more points in a game on Feb. 4, 2006 in a 102-92 overtime loss at Merrimack. SCSU last scored 89 or more points in a 40 minute contest in the 2002-03 season, defeating Le Moyne by a score of 91-75.

…AND A DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN
After allowing 74 or more points in their first eight contests this season, the Owls held Dominican to a season-low 70 points in a victory on Dec. 28. Two days later, the Owls bested that benchmark by holding Dowling to only 64 points. Against Franklin Pierce on Jan. 5, the Owls defense stepped up once again and held the Ravens to 70 points. The Owls dropped a Jan. 10 decision to Le Moyne, despite allowing only 65 points. Last season, the Owls were 5-2 when holding opponents to 70 points or less.

SHARING THE WEALTH
In each of the last five games, a span in which the Owls are 3-2, seven or more different Owls have played at least 10 minutes. For the season, 10 Owls are averaging double figures in minutes played and 11 different SCSU players have made two or more starts.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
With his two free throws against Dowling on Dec. 30, Lance Long became the 12th Owl to score this season. Every Southern Connecticut player who has seen game action has now scored. Long added his first career field goal with a jumper against Pace on Jan. 8.

IT TOLLS FOR THEE
Junior forward Preston Bell scored a game- and career-high 22 points against Dominican on Dec. 28. Bell also matched his career highs in rebounds (five) and assists (two).

RUNNING THE POINT
Sophomore guard Trevor Harris contributed to the Owls' 89-70 victory over Dominican on Dec. 28 with a team season-high nine assists. On the season, the Nanuet, N.Y. native is the Owls' leading assist man with 60 dimes (4.62 apg). Harris led the 2006-07 Owls with 3.3 per contest.

SEND IT BACK!
Sophomore center John Mazzarella blocked a career-high five shots on Dec. 21 against Felician College and repeated the feat with five more rejections at Pace on Jan. 8. On the season, Mazzarella's 26 rejections (2.0 per game) lead the Owls and place him second in the Northeast-10 Conference through games played on Jan. 10. As a team, the Owls are third in the Northeast-10 with 3.85 blocked shots per game.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Senior forward Devon Sullivan pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds in consecutive games, once against Massachusetts-Lowell on Dec. 6 and then again two days later at American International on Dec. 8. On the season, Sullivan leads the Owls with 6.5 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Ktrice McNeill leads SCSU with 34 offensive rebounds, and is contributing 6.4 boards per game overall.

GRAB YOUR WINDEX
As a team, Southern Connecticut is among the best in the Northeast-10 Conference in several rebounding categories. The Owls are fourth in the conference in overall rebounding with 37.8 per game, fifth in rebounding margin at +0.8 and tied for first in offensive rebounding with 13.31 per game.

RESERVATIONS FOR THREE
In their 75-74 victory over New Haven on Nov. 25, the Owls shot 7-for-11 (.636) from three point range, the best three point shooting percentage posted in a game by any Northeast-10 team this season. Trevor Harris shot 5-for-6 from behind the arc in that game en route scoring a career-high 24 points.

MAKING HIS SHOTS COUNT
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill currently holds a ca¬reer field goal percentage of .589 (208-for-353). If maintained, that figure will put McNeill in the SCSU record books for highest career field goal percentage, topping Jon Blandin, who connected to the tune of .583 from the field from 1995 through 1998. Most recently, McNeill shot 6-for-10 from the floor against Le Moyne on Jan. 10.

ACCEPTING CHARITY
Junior guard Justin Gardenhire has delivered two foul shooting performances of 8-for-10 (Nov. 17 against St. Anselm and Nov. 25 at New Haven) and a 7-for-8 shooting day at the stripe (Dec. 6 at Massachusetts-Lowell). On the season, Gardenhire is 49-for-66 (.742), leading the team in free throws made and attempted, and also slotting him second behind Devon Sullivan (22-for-29, .759) in free throw percentage.

STEP RIGHT UP
The six newcomers to the SCSU lineup have accounted for 25.3 points per game this season, 35% of the team's total scoring. Junior guard Justin Gardenhire leads the new Owls in scoring with 11.0 points per contest.

SETTING THE BAR
In his fifth game in an SCSU uniform against No. 19 Saint Michael's on Dec. 1, junior forward Preston Bell posted 11 points, pulled down five rebounds, and dished out two assists in 26 minutes of action. All of these statistics marked career highs for Bell.

AN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
Junior guard Justin Gardenhire scored a team-high 20 points in his Southern Connecticut debut against St. Anselm on Nov. 17. Gardenhire shot 6-for-13 (.462) from the field and 8-for-10 (.800) from the free throw line in the game. His 20 point performance remains his career high through nine games.

BACK IN ACTION
After missing the entire 2006-07 season, senior forward Ktrice McNeill returns to the Owls lineup in the 2007-08 campaign. In the 2005-06 season, McNeill posted 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Owls.

LEADING THE SQUAD
Senior forwards Devon Sullivan and Ktrice McNeill have been named team captains for the 2007-08 season.

ON DECK
The Owls kick off a four-game road swing as they close out their non-conference schedule with a game against Nyack on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The action tips off from Bowman Gymnasium in Nyack, N.Y. at 7 p.m.