Game Notes as a PDF

THE STRETCH RUN CONTINUES
Coming off a convincing win at New Haven on Saturday, the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team takes on Pace and American International in Northeast-10 Conference games this week. The Owls defeated Pace on the road, 82-66, in the first meeting of the year, while falling to AIC, 82-73, at home. SCSU hosts Pace on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before venturing to AIC for a 3:30 p.m. start on Saturday.

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 in Saturday's win at New Haven.

OWLS REMAIN IN THE HUNT
The win over New Haven on Saturday moved the Owls back over .500 on the season and into a three-way tie for eighth place - with LeMoyne and Assumption - in the Northeast-10 Conference standings. Teams finishing fifth through eighth in the standings will host a first round league tournament game.

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 6.6 rebounds per game this season.

HAMLET ON A ROLE
Saturday's game against UNH marked the seventh straight game that sophomore Trevon Hamlet has reached double digits in scoring.

IT'S SIMPLE...SHOOT BETTER AND WIN
The Owls are 9-0 this season when shooting better than their opponents.

GETTING TO 70 HELPS
Southern Connecticut has won eight of the 10 games this year in which it has scored at least 70 points. 

DEFENSE CAN TELL THE STORY
The Owls have merited just 65.8 points per game in their 11 wins, but allowed 74.5 points per game in their 10 losses.

NOT LONG FOR 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. 7 in the most recent NCAA Regional rankings that are used to help determine selection to the NCAA Tournament. SCSU has already defeated two teams in the rankings - Merrimack (No. 6) and Saint Rose (No. 8) this season.

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 Jan. 30, the Owls ranked No. 15 in field goal percentage defense (.386) and are No. 22 in blocked shots per game (4.4). 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 (43.7). The Owls are tied for second with blocks/game (4.4) and total blocks (93) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.388).

INDIVIDUALS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Entering the week, Trevon Hamlet was second in the NE-10 with 50 blocks and in blocks/game (2.4). He also ranks sixth in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg). Kieran Ramsey ranked second in the league in offensive rebounds/game (3.4) and ninth in free throw percentage (.810). Chris Harris was ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6:1).

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 - and there are still five 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.

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 5-5 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 13 of 21 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 (8.8 ppg), Trevon Hamlet (17.4 ppg), Chazz McCarter (10.9 ppg) and Greg Langston (12.8 ppg) averaging at least eight points per game through the first 21 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.

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 PACE
Pace holds a 19-3 advantage in the all-time series with Southern Connecticut State.

IN THE ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST AIC
AIC holds a 41-22 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 Owls are back in action on Feb. 16 for a home game against Adelphi.