Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team held on to defeat Saint Michael's in overtime Tuesday night at Moore Field House. In a game that featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, senior guard Terron Jones (Bridgeport, Conn.) hit a clutch foul shot with 31 seconds remaining to give his team a 65-64 victory and their first Northeast-10 Conference win.

The Owls are now 2-21 overall and 1-17 in the NE-10. Saint Michael's has fallen to 7-14 overall and 5-14 in the conference.

In the first half, Southern jumped out a six-point lead after a jumper by junior guard Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.) put his team up 17-11 with 13:12 remaining. With the momentum in their favor, the Owls continued to control the lead for the majority of the half. At the 5:21 mark, Corbett hit both foul shots to give Southern their largest lead of the game up eight. However, the Purple Knights cut into the lead within the final minutes to make it a two-point Owl lead heading into halftime.

The next twenty minutes were very similar to the first twenty as the Owls controlled the lead and the tempo of the game for most of the half. The Purple Knights had trouble containing the back-door cuts by Jones as he dropped a career high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. After a two made foul shots by junior center John Mazzarella (Wallinford, Conn.), the Owls grabbed a 60-54 lead with 1:39 remaining. The Purple Knights would not go away that easily though as they scored the next six points to tie the game and send it into overtime.

In the overtime period, Saint Michael's took a 63-60 lead after a converted three-point play by Alex Berthiaume. Trailing by three with close to two minutes remaining, freshman guard Chris Harris (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took control and scored the next four points for the Owls. With 31 seconds left and the game tied at 64, Jones was sent to the line after a missed jumper by the Purple Knights. He missed the first one and made the second to put his team up one. Saint Michael's had a chance to win but a couple missed jumpers gave Southern their first conference win of the season, 65-64.

Jones had a terrific game as he posted career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (11). Many of his lay-ups came from great passes by Harris and Mazzeralla. Harris had a career-high 14 points and was the leading assist man with four. Mazzeralla owned the paint as he grabbed a game-high 15 boards and blocked six shots. Corbett joined Jones and Harris in double-digits as he added 15 of his own.

The Owls return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 14 for a Northeast-10 home game against Stonehill. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Moore Field House.