Box Score
RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A foul shot with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime crushed the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team's hope of a non-conference road win versus Felician on Thursday night. In a hard fought matchup that included 10 lead changes and 10 ties, Felician's Richard Fegins hit one of two foul shots to give the Golden Falcons an 87-86 victory.
The devastating loss dropped the Owls to 1-17 overall and 0-13 in the Northeast-10 conference. Felician is now 9-8 and 2-4 in the CACC.
The game was tied 27-27 with 6:21 remaining in the first half until the Owls went on an 11-0 run within two minutes to give them their largest lead of the game. Junior center
John Mazzarella (Wallingford, Conn.) accounted for six of those 11 points as he controlled the paint early on, dropping 13 points in the first 20 minutes of regulation. The Owls shot 57.7% (15-for-26) from the field as they headed into halftime with a 40-37 lead.
The second half was a different story as the Golden Falcons scored the first 10 points, giving them a 47-40 lead with 17:38 left. They would control the lead the rest of the half until junior guard
Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.) came off the bench to hit a lay-up with 12 seconds remaining, cutting the lead to two. Ethan Kennedy went to the line and hit one of two foul shots to put Felician up 79-76. However, Corbett received the ball and hit one from behind-the-arc with 1 second remaining to force an overtime.
In overtime, the Owls jumped to a five point lead after another three from Corbett made the score 85-80 with 1:59 remaining. The Golden Falcons responded by hitting back-to-back three's to tie the game at 86. The Owls had a chance to end the game but a missed lay-up allowed Fegins to grab the rebound and get fouled with a half a second remaining. He hit the first one and missed the second, leaving the Owls with a desperation heave that was no good as they lost 87-86
Mazzarella and Corbett eached dropped double-digits with 15 and 13 respectively. Mazzarella also grabbed a game-high 11 boards. Corbett went 3-for-4 from downtown including his buzzer-beater that sent the game to overtime.
Joining them in double-digits were seniors
Preston Bell (Brooklyn, N.Y.),
Terron Jones (Bridgeport, Conn.) and
Justin Gardenhire (Rosedale, N.Y.). Bell had a team-high 17 points and went 7-for-10 from the line. Jones played great ball all-around as he dropped 15 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocks. Gardenhire tallied 10 points and was the leading assist man with a season-high six.
The Owls return to Moore Field House on Saturday, Jan. 24 as they host St. Rose. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
