full game notes (.pdf)

TONIGHT'S GAME
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team kicks off a four-game road swing as they close out their non-conference schedule with a game against Nyack. The action tips off from Bowman Gymnasium in Nyack, N.Y. at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Owls defeated American International by a score of 76-62 on Saturday, Jan. 12 from Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven, Conn. Senior forward Devon Sullivan led all scorers with 16 points.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
The Nyack College Warriors enter tonight's game with a record of 6-8 overall and 2-3 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. In their last outing, Nyack edged Felician College by a score of 61-60. Senior guard Brian Roberts led the Nyack offense with a game-high 16 points. On the season, senior guard Sheanan Martinez leads the Warrior offensive attack with 10.7 points per contest.

IN THE 2006-07 SEASON
Last season, the Owls and Warriors met for the first time in the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament in Winter Park, Fla. Southern Connecticut overcame a nine point halftime deficit to take home a 72-70 victory. A Derrick Corbett three-pointer with 20 seconds left proved to be the game-winning bucket for the Owls. Kevin Diffley led the Owls' scoring with 16 points. Senior forward Devon Sullivan finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Danny Miller and sophomore guard Trevor Harris also scored in double figures for Southern Connecticut. Nyack was led by Sheanan Martinez, who netted a game-high 21 points. Center John Vandunk finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors. The Owls return five players (two starters) from that contest, while the Warriors retained six players, including all five starters, from that encounter.

BREAKING DOWN THE RECORDS
Southern Connecticut is 5-9 overall and 3-1 in non-conference games. The Owls are 1-4 on the road this season, with that win coming in a non-conference game at the University of New Haven on Nov. 25. Southern Connecticut is 1-1 against CACC foes. The Owls fell to Felician by a score of 75-74 on Dec. 21, and defeated Dominican College 89-70 on Dec. 28. Both games took place at Moore Fieldhouse. Nyack is 6-8 overall and 4-5 in non-conference games. The Warriors are 3-1 at home, and a perfect 2-0 against non-conference opponents in Bowman Gymnasium. Nyack lost its only game against a Northeast-10 opponent, falling to Saint Rose on a neutral floor by a score of 70-61 on Dec. 29.

LEADING THE SCORING ATTACK
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill leads the Southern Connecticut offense in the 2007-08 campaign with 13.4 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. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 83-for-133 (.624), slotting him at fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference.

DOUBLE DIGIT OWLS
Junior guard Justin Gardenhire is averaging double figures in his first season with the Owls with 10.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Trevor Harris is just above the double figures barrier with 10.2 points per contest.

EVERYBODY CHIPPING IN
In the 76-62 victory on Jan. 12 over American International, all 10 Owls who saw game action hit a field goal. Senior forward Devon Sullivan led the balanced scoring attack with 16 points. Sophomore guard Trevor Harris and junior forward Terron Jones joined him in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
Southern Connecticut has showed vast improvement when playing an opponent for the second time this season. After losing at Le Moyne by a score of 88-68 on Nov. 28, the Owls held Le Moyne to 65 points on Jan. 10. American International could muster only 62 points against the Owls on Jan. 12, despite defeating them by a 79-61 mark in Springfield, Mass. on Dec. 8.

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. The sophomore fell one point shy of third double-double of the season, registered nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds, on Jan. 12 against American International.

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.

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 on Feb. 25, 2003, defeating Le Moyne by a score of 91-75.

…AND A DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN
After allowing 74 or more points while posting a 1-7 record in their first eight contests this season, the Owls have held opponents to 69.3 points per game over their last six outings. Southern Connecticut, which is 4-2 in that stretch, has held opponents to 70 points or less in five of those games and 65 points or less in their last two contests, including a season-low 62 points allowed in the club's Jan. 12 win over American International.

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.

SHARING THE WEALTH
In each of the last six games, a span in which the Owls are 4-2, 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 Southern Connecticut 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 season-high nine assists. On the season, the Nanuet, N.Y. native is the Owls' leading assist man with 63 dimes (4.50 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 27 rejections (1.93 per game) lead the Owls and place him second in the Northeast-10 Conference through games played on Jan. 12. As a team, the Owls are third in the Northeast-10 with 3.79 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 6.4 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Ktrice McNeill leads SCSU with 35 offensive rebounds, and is contributing 6.1 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 tied for fourth in the conference in overall rebounding with 37.4 per game, third in rebounding margin at +2.4 and second in offensive rebounding with 13.00 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 .590 (209-for-354). If maintained, that figure will put McNeill in the SCSU record books for highest career field goal percentage, topping Jon Blandin, who con¬nected to the tune of .583 from the field from 1995 through 1998. Most re¬cently, McNeill connected on his only field goal attempt on Jan. 12 against American International.

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-68 (.721), leading the team in free throws made and attempted, and also slotting him second behind Devon Sullivan (24-for-31, .774) in free throw percentage.

STEP RIGHT UP
The six newcomers to the SCSU lineup have accounted for 25.0 points per game this season, 34.4% of the team's total scoring. Junior guard Justin Gardenhire leads the new Owls in scoring with 10.8 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 14 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 stay on road for the first of three trips in nine days to the Bay State, as they challenge the Assumption Greyhounds in a Northeast-10 Conference clash from Worcester, Mass. The action tips off from Laska Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m.