boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior forward Ktrice McNeill (Bronx, N.Y.) scored on a tip-in with 2.4 seconds remaining, and sophomore John Mazzarella (Wallingford, Conn.) posted his second double-double in three games to carry to Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team past the Franklin Pierce University Ravens by a score of 72-70. With the victory, the Owls moved to 4-7 overall and 1-6 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Franklin Pierce fell to 5-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The win was the third consecutive victory for Southern Connecticut.

Junior guard Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.) who scored a career-high 15 points, shooting for 5-for-9 from the floor including a 4-for-6 performance from three-point range. Corbett led four Owls scoring in double figures. Junior forward Preston Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 14 points and McNeill contributed 12 points off the bench. Mazzarella scored 11 points to accompany his team-high 10 rebounds.

The Owls scored the first bucket of the game and never trailed, though Franklin Pierce tied the score on four different occasions, last knotting the score at 70-70 with 18 seconds remaining on a pair of Dozier free throws. On the ensuing Owls' possession, a Trevor Harris (Nanuet, N.Y.) three-point attempt hit the back iron, but Southern Connecticut battled for several put-back opportunities; the last coming as McNeill tipped a rebound through the net to recorded the deciding bucket. A Franklin Pierce half-court heave fell short as a the horn sounded, and the Owls claimed a victory by a score of 72-70.

Ten different Owls scored on the afternoon, with Harris, junior Terron Jones (Bridgeport, Conn.), freshman Andrew Zito (Windsor, Conn.), junior Justin Gardenhire (Rosedale, N.Y.), senior Devon Sullivan (Jamaica, N.Y.) and freshman Peter Simek (Bratislava, Slovakia) all chipping in on the scoring effort.

Franklin Pierce guard Timothy Munch led all scorers with 18 points. Kinard Dozier added 15 for the Ravens, and Rimas Varanauskas recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

On the afternoon, Southern Connecticut shot 27-for-60 (.450) from the floor, 8-for-20 from three point range (.400) and 10-for-21 (.476) from the free throw line. Franklin Pierce shot 22-for-59 (.373) from the field, 5-for-19 (.263) from behind the arc and 21-for-26 (.808) from the charity stripe.

The Owls return to the court of Tuesday, Jan. 8 as they travel to Pace University to challenge the Setters in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown. The action tips off from the Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville, N.Y. at 7:30 p.m.