Game Notes as a PDF
A KEY WEEK AHEAD
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track this week when it takes on St. Michael's and Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Owls are currently 8-5 overall and 5-4 in league play. SCSU travels to St. Michael's on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. before entertaining Franklin Pierce on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Freshman
Greg Langston recorded his first collegiate double-double on Saturday against Bentley. He tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds, while also setting a new career-high with four assists.
HAMLET HAD A FINE WEEK
Sophomore forward
Trevon Hamlet averaged 23 points and 6.5 rebounds in two outings last week. For the week, he hit on 17-of-35 shots from the field, including 6-of-10 three-pointers. Hamlet notched 21 points against Stonehill and added 25 against Bentley. Hamlet has scored at least 20 points in three of the last four outings for the Owls.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
The Owls suffered their first road defeat of the year on Jan. 5 in a 71-56 loss at Stonehill. SCSU had won its first four road tilts of the year.
RAMSEY DOUBLES HIS FUN
Kieran Ramsey averaged 11 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Owls' two outings against St. Thomas Aquinas and New Haven. He tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win over St. Thomas Aquinas and added eight points and 11 rebounds against New Haven.
MAKING IMMEDIATE PROGRESS
Thanks to the win over STAC on Dec. 30, the Owls have posted their highest single-season win total since the 2002-03 campaign - and there are still 13 games in the regular season.
STREAKS COME TO AN END
The Jan. 2 game against New Haven marked the first time this season that the Owls lost when leading at halftime (7-1) and when holding their opponent to less than 69 points (6-1).
ZITO DOES MORE WITH LESS
Despite just playing 18 minutes,
Andrew Zito scored six points, had a team-high six assists and pulled down five rebounds against New Haven on Jan. 2.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Ironically, the last Owls' team to start a season with a 7-2 mark was the 1999-2000 squad. That year, the Owls also won seven of their first nine games during the fall semester and actually won its first 12 games after the break to race out to a 19-2 start.
OWLS AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
In the NCAA stats through games of Jan. 2, the Owls ranked No. 10 in Division II in blocked shots/game (5.3), 11th in field goal percentage defense (.370) and 17th in rebounding margin (+8.7). In addition, sophomore forward
Trevon Hamlet was fifth in the nation in blocked shots/gane (2.9).
RAMSEY GETS THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Junior
Kieran Ramsey posted his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win over St. Thomas Aquinas.
MCCARTER COMING CLOSE
Senior
Chazz McCarter has narrowly missed a pair of double-doubles at home this year. He had 17 points and nine rebounds in the win over LeMoyne on Nov. 17 and scored 19 points with nine boards in the win over STAC on Dec. 30.
HAMLET MAKES IT A TRIFECTA
Sophomore forward
Trevon Hamlet was named to the Northeast-10 weekly honor roll for the third week in a row on Dec. 13. He averaged 20.5 points and 11 rebounds in the Owls' two contests against Assumption and Southern New Hampshire.
WORKING OVERTIME
The overtime triumph against Assumption on Dec. 7 was the first for the Owls since a 65-64 win over St. Michael's on Feb. 10, 2009.
THE CENTURY CLUB
Southern Connecticut reached the 100-point plateau in the Assumption game for the first time since Feb. 10, 2001, a 124-123 triple overtime loss against Pace.
HOW ABOUT THAT FOR AN ENCORE?
Coming off a week in which he averaged 17.5 points per game and was named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week, freshman
Greg Langston poured in a career-high 32 points in the Owls' win over Assumption on Dec. 7.
BIG DEFICIT, NO PROBLEM
Trailing by 22 points with 9:44 remaining at Saint Rose on Dec. 4, the Owls strung together one of the biggest comebacks in program history. Southern Connecticut chipped away at the Saint Rose lead, but still trailed by three points with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. Freshman
Greg Langston knocked down a three-pointer to even the game at 83-83 before converting a running jumper at the buzzer to give the Owls an 85-83 win.
ROADS? WHERE WE'RE GOING WE DON'T NEED ROADS
Although the Owls had struggled away from Moore Field House in recent years, that hasn't been the case this year. Southern Connecticut is off to a 4-1 start in road contests this year, including 3-1 in league play.
WINNING EARLY AND OFTEN
The Owls' 4-0 start was their first since the 1999-2000 season, when they won their first five games of the year.
NO REBOUNDS FOR YOU
Southern Connecticut had outrebounded its opponents in first seven games this season until Assumption held a 60-58 edge in the Dec. 7 game. The Owls have outrebounded their opponent in 10 of 13 games this season.
DEXTON'S DOMINATION
Senior forward
Dexton Williamson pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the win at Adelphi.
IT'S SIMPLE...SHOOT BETTER AND WIN
The Owls are 7-0 this season when shooting better than their opponents.
DEFENSIVE EXCELLENCE
The 52 points merited by the Owls in their win over Adelphi was the fewest in a game in more than two years. SCSU allowed 48 points in a loss to St. Anselm on Dec. 6, 2008, but opponents had scored at least 52 points in every game since then.
THE DRIVE FOR FIVE
Southern Connecticut had five players in double figures in its win at Pace.
Trevon Hamlet led the way with 28 points, while
Kieran Ramsey added 13.
Chris Harris and
Dexton Williamson each registered 11 points, while
Greg Langston chipped in 10.
A SENIOR PRESENCE
Seniors
Lance Long (eight points) and
Andrew Zito (seven points) both posted season-highs in scoring against AIC.
CLEANING THE GLASS
Sophomore
Ante Cosic pulled down a career-best seven rebounds against AIC.
BALANCE ACROSS THE BOARD
The Owls have four players -
Kieran Ramsey (10.8 ppg),
Trevon Hamlet (17.9 ppg),
Chazz McCarter (10.0 ppg) and
Greg Langston (12.2 ppg) averaging double figures per game through the first 13 games of the year.
REJECTION LETTER
The Owls had a season-high eight blocks in the win over LeMoyne. Four were registered by senior
Dexton Williamson. SCSU also had eight blocks in its win at Adelphi, including six by sophomore
Trevon Hamlet.
AT THE TOP
Entering the week, Southern Connecticut was first in the Northeast-10 in blocks/game (5.2) and rebounding offense (46.5). The Owls were also second in field goal percentage defense (.375) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.304), as well as rebounding margin (+6.9).
INDIVIDUALS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Entering the week,
Trevon Hamlet was first in the NE-10 with 35 blocks and in blocks/game (2.7). He also ranks fifth in the league in scoring (17.9 ppg).
Kieran Ramsey led the league in offensive rebounds (4.6 per game) and was eighth in rebounds per game (8.4).
Chris Harris was sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.79:1). In addition,
Dexton Williamson ranked sixth in the league in blocks/game (1.23).
DOING IT ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Four strong defensive efforts helped the Owls to their quick start. SCSU merited just 59.1 points per game in their first four contests, all wins.
RETURNING VETERANS IMPACT DOWN LOW
Senior
Dexton Williamson and junior
Kieran Ramsey played a key role in the Owls' two wins in the opening weekend. Williamson was one of two Owls to score in double digits in both contests. He had 16 points against Chestnut Hill and 10 against Bridgeport. Ramsey scored 23 points in the win over Chestnut Hill and averaged 15.5 points in the two contests.
LANGSTON ACCLIMATES HIMSELF WELL
Freshman
Greg Langston was one of just two Owls to register double digits in both outings in the opening weekend. He tallied 12 points in his collegiate debut against Chestnut Hill and added 15 points in the win over Bridgeport.
WIN NO. 1 AND WIN NO. 100 ALL IN A WEEKEND
Owls' coach
Michael Donnelly posted his first win on the SCSU sideline in the season opener against Chestnut Hill, and followed that up with his 100th win as a collegiate head coach thanks to Sunday's triumph over Bridgeport.
WRITING THE PLAY TO HIS LIKING
Trevon Hamlet registered the go-ahead bucket with 1:22 remaining in regulation to propel the Owls to a 59-56 win at Bridgeport on Sunday. He averaged 9.5 points in two games in the opening weekend.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eight different players averaged double digit minutes during the opening weekend, while a ninth averaged 9.5 minutes per outing.
NO ROAD WOES HERE
Southern Connecticut posted its first road win since Dec. 29, 2008, a 58-53 win at Dowling, when it defeated Bridgeport on the road on Nov. 14.
RETURNING A STRONG CORE
Southern Connecticut returns six student-athletes from last year's squad - seniors
Lance Long,
Dexton Williamson and
Andrew Zito, juniors
Chris Harris and
Kieran Ramsey and sophomore
Ante Cosic.
SEVENTH HEAVEN
Seven newcomers have joined the squad for the 2010-11 season -
Joe Groski,
Trevon Hamlet,
Lenzie Harrison,
Demetrius Jackson,
Greg Langston,
Chazz McCarter and
John Scurry.
IN THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST ST. MICHAEL'S
St. Michael's holds a 14-9 advantage in the all-time series with Southern Connecticut State.
IN THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST FRANKLIN PIERCE
Franklin Pierce holds a 25-12 advantage in the all-time series with Southern Connecticut State.
IN THE NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were selected 15th in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches.
RECEIVING THEIR JUST DUE
The Owls were named the recipient of the 2009-10 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Sportsmanship award for their play during the course of the season.
DISHING IT OUT
Junior guard
Chris Harris was ninth in the NE-10 in assists in 2009-10. He also finished 12th in assist-turnover ratio.
ON DECK
The Owls host Saint Anselm on Jan. 19 in a 7:30 p.m. start.