boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior guard Justin Gardenhire (Rosedale, N.Y.) scored a team-high 15 points, and senior forward Ktrice McNeill (Bronx, N.Y.) added 13 and a team-high nine rebounds, but the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team could not overcome a game-high 24 points from forward Laurence Ekperigin, as they fell to the Le Moyne Dolphins by a score of 65-59. With the loss, the Owls dropped to 4-9 overall and 1-8 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Le Moyne improved to 8-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play.

Le Moyne, which defeated the Owls by an 88-68 mark in Syracuse on Nov. 28, claimed victory in this game on the back of 10 offensive rebounds that resulted in 18 second-chance points. The Owls also pulled down 10 offensive boards, but the offense could only converted them into five second chance points.

Sophomore guard Trevor Harris (Nanuet, N.Y.) also scored in double-figures for Southern Connecticut, and also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and distributed a team-high six assists.

Joining Ekperigin in double-figures for Le Moyne was center Dan Cromwell, who netted 15 points in the winning effort.

For the game, the Owls shot 22-for-53 (41.5%) from the floor, 4-for-15 (26.7%) from three-point range and 11-for-17 (64.7%) from the free throw line. Le Moyne shot 21-for-47 (44.7%) from the field, 4-for-11 (36.4%) from behind the arc and 19-for-30 (63.3%) from the charity stripe.

The Owls are back in action on Saturday afternoon, as they host the American International Yellow Jackets in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown from Moore Fieldhouse. The action tips off from New Haven at 3:30 p.m.