boxscore

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior forward Ktrice McNeill (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 14 points to lead the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team against Assumption on Saturday afternoon, but the Owls could not overcome the Greyhounds' 57 point second half scoring barrage, as they fell by a score of 96-62. With the loss, the Owls dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-9 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while Assumption improved to 14-5 overall and 8-4 in conference play.

Assumption built a comfortable lead early, as they ran off a 10-1 run over a span of 5:44 in the first half to take secure an 11 point cushion. The Greyhounds led by as many as 12 points in the opening stanza, and the Owls entered the intermission trailing 39-29. McNeill led all scored in the first half with 12 points. Center Corey Diethorn paced Assumption with 10 points.

Southern Connecticut could not keep up with the Assumption offense in the second half. The Greyhounds rattled off 57 points in the second frame, while the Owls endured a stretch of 7:03 in which they were held without a field goal. Assumption built a lead of 36 points, their largest of the game, in final minutes en route to an eventual 34 point victory, 96-62.

Junior forward Preston Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and junior guard Justin Gardenhire (Rosedale, N.Y.) each added 10 points for the Owls to join McNeill in double figures. Bell and sophomore center John Mazzarella (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the rebounding effort with six apiece, and sophomore guard Trevor Harris (Nanuet, N.Y.) was the Owls' leading assist man with five.

Sophomore guard Tocari Davis (Hartford, Conn.) made his Owls' debut and contributed the first eight points of his career. Mazzarella added seven, junior guard Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.) netted six points, Harris chipped in with five and freshman center Peter Simek (Bratislava, Slovakia) scored two points.

Diethorn and Alex Popp led all scorers with 16 points each. Patrick Shea, Courtland Bluford and Mitch Bajema each scored 10 points to join Diethorn and Popp in double figures for the Greyhounds.

For the game, Southern Connecticut shot 20-for-62 (32.3%) from the floor, 2-for-11 (18.2%) from three-point range and 20-for-32 (62.5%) from the free throw line. Assumption shot 32-for-62 (51.6%) from the field, 8-for-18 (44.4%) from behind the arc and 24-for-33 (72.7%) from the charity stripe.

The Owls return to the court on Tuesday, Jan. 22, as they continue their Northeast-10 Conference schedule against the Stonehill Skyhawks. The action tips off from Easton, Mass. at 7:30 p.m.