Game Notes as a PDF
THE REGULAR SEASON FINALE
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team plays its final game of the regular season at Assumption College on Wednesday night. SCSU defeated Assumption at home in double overtime, 102-97, on Dec. 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Worcester, Mass.
A STARTING ROLE
Senior
Demetrius Jackson played like an everyday starter against Saint Rose scoring a career-high six points and tying a career-high with four assists. He also matched a career-high in steals against Saint Rose.
CATCH 22
Dexton Williamson registered his third double-double of the season by shooting 50-percent from the floor with 11 points and 13 rebounds against Saint Rose. The Owls are 3-3 on the season when Williamson leads the team in rebounds.
QUADRUPLE THREAT SCORING ATTACK
The Owls had four players in double figures against Saint Rose on Saturday.
Greg Langston scored 18,
Trevon Hamlet tallied 14 points, while
Kieran Ramsey added 14 and
Dexton Williamson with 11, in the contest.
CALL ME WINDEX BECAUSE I CLEAN GLASS
The Owls are 9-5 on the season when outrebounding their opponents. They outrebounded Saint Rose 50-42 and had two members finish the game against Saint Rose with more offensive than defensive rebounds.
Chazz McCarter had a career-high 10 rebounds, while
Dexton Williamson had seven offensive rebounds and 12 total, and
Kieran Ramsey had six offensive with eight total rebounds. The Owls combined had four players with over eight rebounds .
HAMLET ON A ROLE
Saturday's game against Saint Rose marked the 11th straight game that sophomore
Trevon Hamlet has reached double digits in scoring.
YOU SHOULD BE DANCING
The Owls have clinched a spot in the 2011 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. It's the program's first berth in the event since the 2001-02 season. With one game remaining in the regular season, the Owls look to finish the season with a win. The tournament begins with first round action on Feb. 26.
THREE'S COMPANY
The Owls had three players in double figures against Adelphi on Wednesday.
Trevon Hamlet tallied 18 points, while
Greg Langston added 17 and
Chazz McCarter, 16, in the contest.
BLOCKING OUT AGAINST ADELPHI
Southern Connecticut has registered eight blocks in a game on three separate occasions this year, and two of those instances have come in the games against Adelphi.
RAMSEY CLEANS THE GLASS
Kieran Ramsey pulled down a team-high nine boards with fellow teammate
Trevon Hamlet in loss to AIC on Feb. 12. Hamlet contributed 20 points and finished just one rebound shy of back-to-back double-doubles.
SOMETHING ABOUT TUESDAY
There must be something about Tuesday nights, as the Owls are 4-1 overall on that day of the week.
NO ANSWER FOR STARTERS
The Owls had four starters score in double digits against Pace on Feb. 8. -
Chris Harris,
Trevon Hamlet,
Chazz McCarter and
Dexton Williamson.
DEFENSE IS ALWAYS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
In the game at home against Pace, The Owls held their opponent to just a single basket in over 10 minutes with, what else, defense. The team remains ranked 11th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (38.7).
SHOCKING THE SETTERS
The Owls stunned Pace with a 27-4 run over the final 8:43 to close out Pace in a 63-53 win.
Trevon Hamlet scored 11 of his 18 points during that run.
MCCARTER PUTS ON A HOMETOWN SHOW
Senior guard
Chazz McCarter broke out for a career-high 24 points and added a team-high eight rebounds to best New Haven on Feb. 5.
BALANCE ON THE BOARDS
The Owls have five players -
Kieran Ramsey,
Dexton Williamson,
Trevon Hamlet,
Greg Langston and
Chazz McCarter - all averaging between 5.0 and 6.8 rebounds per game this season.
IT'S SIMPLE...SHOOT BETTER AND WIN
The Owls are 9-0 this season when shooting better than their opponents. They are 3-13 when shooting worse than the opposition.
GETTING TO 70 HELPS
Southern Connecticut has won eight of the 11 games this year in which it has scored at least 70 points.
DEFENSE CAN TELL THE STORY
The Owls have merited just 64.8 points per game in their 12 wins, but allowed 75.8 points per game in their 13 losses.
NOT LONG FOR A SEASON-HIGH
Senior
Lance Long reached a season-high in rebounds with four, while senior
Chazz McCarter matched a career-high with nine rebounds to help the Owls outrebound Le Moyne, 46-43, on Feb. 2.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR WILLIAMSON
Senior
Dexton Williamson tallied a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Le Moyne on Feb. 2 Joining Williamson in double figures were senior
Chazz McCarter and sophomore
Trevon Hamlet with 11 and 18 points, respectively.
ANOTHER STRONG WEEK FOR HAMLET
Sophomore
Trevon Hamlet averaged 21 points and six rebounds per outing in the Owls' two games against Merrimack and UMass-Lowell. He registered 26 points in the win over Merrimack and followed that up with a team-high 16 points at UMass-Lowell.
LANGSTON REMAINS UP TO THE TASK
Freshman
Greg Langston was one of two Owls to post consecutive double-digit scoring efforts against UMass-Lowell and Merrimack. He tallied 15 points against UMass-Lowell, and added 14 points in the win over Merrimack.
BECOMING OLD HAT
Freshman
Greg Langston connected on his second buzzer-beater winning shot of the year in the win over Merrimack. He also hit the game-winner in the Owls' triumph at Saint Rose on Dec. 4.
OWLS EARN REGIONAL RANKING
Southern Connecticut was ranked No. 10 in the most recent NCAA Regional rankings that are used to help determine selection to the NCAA Tournament. It was the fourth straight week that the Owls were in the rankings.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
The Owls had a season-low six turnovers in the win over Merrimack.
SCURRY JUMPS RIGHT INTO THE FRAY
Freshman
John Scurry recorded a season-high four points off the bench in the game at UMass-Lowell.
WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE DIGIT CLUB
Southern Connecticut has reached double figures in victories 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.
OWLS AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
In the NCAA stats through games of Feb. 20, the Owls ranked No. 11 in field goal percentage defense (.387) and are No. 20 in blocked shots per game (4.5).
Trevon Hamlet is also 16th in the nation in blocked shots/game (2.4).
AT THE TOP
Entering the week, Southern Connecticut was first in the Northeast-10 in rebounding offense (44.1). The Owls are second with blocks/game (4.52) and total blocks (113) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.387).
INDIVIDUALS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Entering the week,
Trevon Hamlet was second in the NE-10 with 60 blocks and in blocks/game (2.4). He also ranks sixth in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg).
Kieran Ramsey ranked third in the league in offensive rebounds/game (3.6) and 11th in free throw percentage (.800).
Chris Harris was 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.47:1).
QUICK TURNAROUND
Trailing by 11 early in the second half against Franklin Pierce, the Owls went on a 28-6 run to turn the tides en route to the win over the Ravens. Freshman
Greg Langston scored 16 of his 29 points during the spurt for the Owls.
BALANCE GETS THE JOB DONE
The Owls had four players in double figures against Franklin Pierce -
Greg Langston,
Chazz McCarter,
Chris Harris and
Trevon Hamlet.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Southern Connecticut knocked down a season-high 15 three-pointers in the win over Franklin Pierce.
GROSKI BECOMING A FACTOR
Freshman
Joe Groski has seen increased minutes recently, which has translated into increased production on the scoresheet. He scored a career-high eight points in the game against Saint Anselm and pulled down a career-best five boards. On Jan. 25, he had three rebounds in just four minutes of action against Merrimack.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Freshman
Greg Langston recorded his first collegiate double-double against Bentley on Jan. 8. 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 during the week of Jan. 5. 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.
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.
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 (10-5) and when holding their opponent to less than 69 points (8-3).
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.
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. The Owls won their first four road games of the year and are now 5-6 away from home.
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 15 of 25 games this season.
DEXTON'S DOMINATION
Senior forward
Dexton Williamson pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the win at Adelphi.
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 (8.4 ppg),
Trevon Hamlet (17.4 ppg),
Chazz McCarter (10.8 ppg) and
Greg Langston (12.8 ppg) averaging at least eight points per game on the season.
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, and eight in the home game against Adelphi.
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 ASSUMPTION
Assumption holds a 27-11 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.
ON DECK
The Northeast-10 Conference playoffs are next up for the Owls on Saturday.