complete game notes (.pdf)

SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON
The Southern Connecticut State University wraps up the 2007-08 season on Tuesday, as they travel to Waltham, Mass. to challenge No. 1 Bentley. The action tips off at 7:30 p.m. from the Dana Center. The Owls enter the game at 7-19 overall and 3-18 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior forward Preston Bell scored a team-high 17 points and fell one rebound shy of his first career double-double, but the Owls fell at the College of Saint Rose by a score of 87-72 on Saturday afternoon from Nolan Gymnasium in Albany, N.Y. Senior forward Devon Sullivan and junior guard Justin Gardenhire each added 15 points. Steve Dagostino, the reigning Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, led all scorers with 25 points and a game-high nine assists.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bentley enters the game at the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II basketball. They are current 26-0 overall and 21-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference. With their win on Saturday at Saint Michael's, the Falcons took hold of the longest regular season winning streak in NCAA Division II history at 53 games. Jason Westrol and Lew Finnegan lead the Bentley offense this season with 14.3 points per game apiece. Westrol is also the team's leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per game.

EARLIER THIS SEASON
The Owls hosted the then-No. 2 nationally-ranked Bentley College Falcons in their second game of the season on Nov. 20. Southern Connecticut hung tough with Bentley, as evidenced by the nine ties and eight lead changes that occurred in the first half, but the Falcons used a 30-11 run to open the second half to claim the victory. Sophomore guard Trevor Harris posted a team-high 10 points for the Owls.

HISTORY LESSON
Bentley leads the all-time series 19-5, and has claimed victory in the last 13 meetings. The Owls last defeated Bentley 97-93 in the 1992-93 season. The last Southern Connecticut win at Bentley was on Dec. 5, 1989.

LEADING THE SCORING ATTACK
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill leads the Southern Connecticut offense in the 2007-08 campaign with 12.5 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 also leads the Northeast-10 Conference in field goal percentage at 140-for-219 (.639). Most recently, the Bronx, N.Y. native scored a seven points on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor on Feb. 23 at the College of Saint Rose.

BACK TO FORM
Senior forward Devon Sullivan, the leading scorer from the 2006-07 season among returning Owls, has once again stepped up as the team's offensive leader in the last six games. Sullivan is averaging 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds over this current stretch. He has also recorded two double-doubles over the last six outings, and hauled in 10 or more rebounds three times.


POINTS AT A PREMIUM
The Southern Connecticut defense held Massachusetts-Lowell to only 43 points on Feb. 19, matched the second best defensive performance by any Northeast-10 Conference team this season. Southern New Hampshire held Franklin Pierce to 42 points on Jan. 12, and No. 1 Bentley has held opponents to only 43 points twice this in 2007-08.

GOING OUT WITH A BANG
The Owls' 61-43 victory over Massachusetts-Lowell was Senior Night: the final home game in the careers of senior forwards Ktrice McNeill and Devon Sullivan. McNeill celebrated by scoring a game-high 15 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting day from the field and pulling down nine rebounds. Sullivan treated the home crowd to eight points and six rebounds, including the 500th of his career.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
After playing only three minutes against Pace on Feb. 13 due to injury, and then missing the team's next game at Bryant, junior guard Preston Bell returned to the Owls' lineup with authority against Massachusetts-Lowell on Feb. 19, hauling in a career-best 13 rebounds. Bell fell one point shy of a double-double, finishing with nine. His 13 boards matched sophomore center John Mazzarella and senior forward Devon Sullivan's mark for the single game high by any Owl this season. Mazzarella grabbed 13 rebounds on Dec. 28 against Dominican. Sullivan did the deed in consecutive games: Dec. 6 at Massachusetts-Lowell and Dec. 8 at American International.

THE 600 CLUB
Senior forward Devon Sullivan scored eight points on Jan. 26 against Southern New Hampshire to bring his career total to 600 points. Senior forward Ktrice McNeill joined him at the 600 point plateau on Feb. 16 at Bryant. Entering the final game of their collegiate careers, Sullivan has netted 689 points in 72 career games, while McNeill has tallied 630 points in 53 contests.

SETTING THE STANDARD
A trio of first year Owls, freshmen Andrew Zito and Lance Long and sophomore Tocari Davis, set career highs in the team's Feb. 16 game at Bryant. Zito scored a career-high 10 points. Long netted six points to mark a new career-best, and also dished out a career-high three assists. Davis matched his career high of eight points and set career highs in rebounds and assists with five of each. Davis played every minute of the game before fouling out with 22 seconds remaining.

SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT
Junior guard Derrick Corbett scored the Owls' first 12 points in the team's Feb. 13 overtime loss to Pace, knocking down his first four three-point attempts. For the game, Corbett drilled 8 of his 13 attempts from behind the arc en route to scoring a career-high 25 points before fouling out in the second half. His scoring effort was the most in a single game by an Owls' player since Devon Sullivan netted 28 against Pace on Feb. 15, 2007.

DOUBLING UP
Sophomore guard Trevor Harris and senior forward Devon Sullivan both posted double-doubles against Pace on Feb. 13. Harris' consisted of 15 points and 11 assists, and was the second of his career. He was two rebounds shy of recording his first career triple-double. Sullivan netted 21 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season. Sullivan has racked up 11 double-doubles in his three year career.

RUNNING THE POINT
Sophomore guard Trevor Harris dished out a career-high 11 assists on Feb. 13 against Pace. The Nanuet, N.Y. native is the Owls leading assist man on the season, dishing out 102 dimes (3.9 apg). Harris led the 2006-07 club with 3.3 assists per game.

WITH HONORS
Senior forward Devon Sullivan was named to the Northeast-10 Weekly Honor Roll for the week ending Feb. 10. Sullivan led the Owls with 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over two games in that week.

FROM ALL ANGLES
Five Owls scored in double figures in the team's 84-82 loss to the College of Saint Rose on Jan. 30. Junior guard Justin Gardenhire led the way with 17 points. Senior forward Ktrice McNeill netted 14 on a 7-for-9 shooting day. Sophomore guard Trevor Harris and junior forward Preston Bell each added 13, and junior guard Terron Jones matched his career-high with 12. The Owls previously had five scorers in double figures on Dec. 28 in an 89-70 win over Dominican.

IF IT'S UP… IT'S GOOD
Junior guard Terron Jones shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor en route to scoring a career-high 12 points on Jan. 26 against Southern New Hampshire. Jones matched his new career-best in the Owls' next game, a Jan. 30 matchup with the College of Saint Rose.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
By netting eight points in his Southern Connecticut debut at Assumption on Jan. 19, sophomore guard Tocari Davis became the 13th Owl to score this season. Every Southern Connecticut player who has seen game action has converted at least two field goals and two free throws this season.

TENACIOUS D
After surrendering 55 points in the first half against Nyack on Jan. 15, the Southern Connecticut defense allowed just 16 points to the Warriors en route to a come-from-behind 79-71 victory. Nyack shot 19.2% (5-for-26) from the floor and 41.7% (5-for-12) from the free throw line in the half.

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.

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 held Dominican to only 70 points in a victory on Dec. 28. Two days later, they topped that performance by holding Dowling to only 64 points. The Southern Connecticut defense stepped up again on Jan. 12, as they held American International to only 62 points.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Senior forward Devon Sullivan has notched double figures in rebounds in eight games this season. He 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 6.9 rebounds 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 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.

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 senior co-captain 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
Ten Owls are averaging double figures in minutes played this season, and 11 different Southern Connecticut players have made two or more starts.

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 then-career highs in rebounds (five) and assists (two).

SEND IT BACK!
Sophomore center John Mazzarella blocked a career-high five shots on Dec. 21 against Felician College and repeated the deed with five more rejections at Pace on Jan. 8, tying him with five other players for the highest single game block total by a Northeast-10 Conference player this season. Mazzarella is the only player in the conference to block five shots in a game on two separate occasions.

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 second 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 to scoring a career-high 24 points.

MAKING HIS SHOTS COUNT
Senior forward Ktrice McNeill currently holds a ca¬reer field goal percentage of .605 (266-for-440). 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 recently, McNeill converted three of his five field goal attempts on Feb. 23 at the College of Saint Rose

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 71-for-101 (.703), leading the team in free throws made and attempted. Senior forward Devon Sullivan (39-for-54, .722) leads the team in free throw percentage.

STEP RIGHT UP
The seven newcomers to the SCSU lineup have accounted for 23.7 points per game this season, nearly 34% of the team's total scoring. Junior guard Justin Gardenhire leads the new Owls in scoring with 10.2 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. At the time, 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 that game. His 20 point performance remains his career high through 23 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.