Complete Game Notes as a PDF
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team continues Northeast-10 Conference play this week beginning with a road game at Le Moyne on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a home game against New Haven on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game against UNH will be the annual Unity Thru Hoops contest, and there will be numerous events taking place in conjunction with the game.
UNITY THRU HOOPS
• The Southern Connecticut State University and University of New Haven Departments of Athletics are excited that their second annual 'Unity thru Hoops' event will take place on Saturday, December 10. The event, scheduled in conjunction with the basketball teams' Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at 1 p.m. (women's) and 3:30 p.m. (men's), will focus on promoting diversity and fostering an environment of inclusion around the greater New Haven community.
• Leading up to the doubleheader, members of the New Haven and Southern Connecticut State communities will reach out to local schools to introduce students to the 'Unity thru Hoops' logo, which emphasizes categories that contribute to diversity; such as race, gender, language, religious beliefs, ability, sexual orientation, age and ethnicity.
• Fans are also asked to bring a new unwrapped toy as part of a holiday Toy Drive. Items collected will be donated to local charitable organizations.
• Clubs and organizations from both Universities with similar goals are also planning to highlight the diversity of interests and multi-cultural groups on both campuses. On game day, these student organizations will partner and set up information tables inside Moore Field House to share ideas about unity in a diverse population. Student groups from both institutions will also compete in a variety of dance contests between the women's and men's games. A reception for the student organizations, faculty, administrators and special guests will be held following the games.
• The 'Unity thru Hoops' partnership began during the 2010-11 academic year and will alternate between the UNH and SCSU campuses every year. The event exemplifies goal five of the NCAA Division II Strategic Plan which states to partner and build collaborative relationships with other organizations to support and enhance the diversity of student-athletes, administrators and coaches at the local, conference and national levels.
BLOCK PARTY CONTINUES
After being amongst the leaders in blocks within the Northeast-10 Conference last season, Trevon Hamlet has picked up right where he left off by swatting away 19 shots through the Owls' first seven games. With eight blocks combined in last week's games, Hamlet now leads the NE-10 in total blocks, and his 2.7 blocks per game are also best in the conference.
REBOUND TOWN
The Owls outrebounded both of their opponents last week to improve their record to 3-1 in games in which they do so. With 35 boards apiece in each of the games, the Owls are now tied for second in the Northeast-10 Conference in team rebounds per game with 39.6 per contest.
DEFENDING ITS HOME COURT
The Owls are 3-0 at home this season after last week's victory over Pace.
HAMLET EARNS CONSECUTIVE NE-10 HONORS
Trevon Hamlet was named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll in back-to-back weeks on Nov. 21 and Nov. 28 for his play against Adelphi, Assumption and St. Rose.
NEWCOMERS IMPROVING NUCLEUS
Freshmen Kyle Callanan and Luke Houston have continued to make an impact for the Owls. Entrenched in a starting role, Callanan is averaging 7.6 points per game and is second on the team with 17 assists. Houston averages 6.7 points per contest and his 13 assists are tied for the fourth most amongst the Owls. Meanwhile, transfer Dominique Langston is third on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game and leads the Owls in rebounding with 6.7 boards per contest.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
SCSU brings an all-time record of 8-18 into Tuesday's game against Le Moyne and a 32-39 all-time record into Saturday's game against New Haven. The Owls split their games with both squads last season.
HARRIS NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN
Senior guard Chris Harris has been selected as team captain for the Owls in 2011-12.
IN SEASON OPENERS
With the victory over Post, the Owls are now 26-36 all-time in season openers.
IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls have been selected eighth in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll. They finished tied for 10th in the regular season standings last season.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The Owls welcome eight newcomers to the squad for the 2011-12 season - Ryan Belote, Kyle Callanan, Kevin Clark, Jose Cruz, Luke Houston, Dominique Langston, Tylon Smith and Rashamell Vereen.
VETERAN PRESENCE
Southern Connecticut returns six players from last year's squad - seniors Chris Harris and Kieran Ramsey, junior Trevon Hamlet and sophomores Joe Groski, Lenzie Harrison and Greg Langston.
HAMLET RECEIVES PRESEASON HONORS
Junior forward Trevon Hamlet has earned preseason All-American honors by The Sporting News. Last season as a sophomore, Hamlet collected All-ECAC and All-Northeast-10 Conference honors after averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
OWLS FINISH WITH FINE CAMPAIGN
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team took a key step forward during the 2010-11 season. The Owls closed the year with 12 wins and qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
REACHING THE POST-SEASON
The berth in the NE-10 Tournament was the third for the Owls since joining the league, but the first in nine years. The Owls qualified in 2000-01 and 2001-02, but lost in the first round on both occasions.
THAT'S QUITE A TURNAROUND
The Owls posted the third-highest win turnaround in all of Division II last season. Only Georgia Southwestern and Adams State (Colo.) posted better win improvements than the Owls, who finished the year 10 wins better than the year prior.
HAMLET EARNS POST-SEASON RECOGNITION
Forward Trevon Hamlet earned All-ECAC and All-Northeast-10 Conference honors after a fine sophomore season in which he averaged 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per contest for the Owls.
OWLS RANK AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
The Owls closed the year ranked No. 8 in all of Division II in field goal percentage defense (.388) and No. 15 in blocked shots/game (4.6). Trevon Hamlet closed the year ranked No. 19 with 2.3 blocks per game.
A GRAND ACCOMPLISHMENT
Thanks to a season-high 30 point effort at Assumption on Feb. 23 2010, Trevon Hamlet went over the 1,000 point mark for his collegiate career. Hamlet tallied 540 points as a freshman at Post University and tallied 475 points as an Owl in 2010-11.
IT'S SIMPLE...SHOOT BETTER AND WIN
The Feb. 23 game against Assumption marked the first time on the season that the Owls shot better from the field than their opponent, yet lost. The Owls finished the year 9-1 when shooting better than their opponents and 3-14 when shooting worse than the opposition.
DEFENSE CAN TELL THE STORY
The Owls merited just 64.8 points per game in their 12 wins, but allowed 75.9 points per game in their 15 losses in 2010-11.
OWLS IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS
Southern Connecticut was present in the NCAA Regional rankings for most of the latter half of the season, peaking as high as No. 7 in the rankings.
WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE DIGIT CLUB
Southern Connecticut reached double figures in victories last year for the first time since the 2001-02 season. That year's club finished 14-13, also the last time that the Owls posted a winning record.
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.
ON DECK
The Owls will host Concordia on Dec. 18 at 3:30 p.m.
