Bridgeport Tournament Game Notes (PDF)

A NEW SEASON
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team opens the 2013-14 regular season this weekend at the Bridgeport Tournament. The Owls play Molloy on Saturday and Bridgeport on Sunday. Both games tip off at 8 p.m.

IN THE PRESEASON NE-10 COACHES POLL
In the release of the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches' poll, the Owls were picked second in the Southwest Division. SCSU received 70 points, including one first place vote, tied for second with Saint Rose and behind the University of New Haven.

IN SEASON OPENERS
The Owls are 27-36 all-time in season-opening games. SCSU has won its last three season openers, including an 94-77 win over Goldey-Beacom last year.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
This will mark the first ever meeting between the Owls and Molloy.

ALL-TIME AGAINST BRIDGEPORT
Bridgeport, who SCSU has played the most games against in its history, leads the all-time series with the Owls by a 54-31 margin.

A LOOK BACK AT THE URI GAME
SCSU held a one-point lead at halftime, but the University of Rhode Island outscored the Owls by a 52-35 margin the second half to claim a 93-77 win in an exhibition contest on Nov. 1.
• Greg Langston led the Owls with 21 points in the contest. Michael Mallory added 19 points and five rebounds, while Tylon Smith chipped in 12 points, along with team-highs of seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

A LOOK BACK AT THE UCONN GAME
Senior forward Greg Langston finished with 18 points, but the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team dropped a 93-65 decision to No. 18/19 nationally ranked University of Connecticut in an exhibition contest on Oct. 30.
• Michael Mallory also reached double figures in the contest as he scored 13 for the Owls. Luke Houston and Austin Carter added nine points each.
• After a jumper from UConn's Shabazz Napier to open the scoring, the Owls went in front on a three-pointer from Langston. The Huskies followed with an 8-0 run to take a 10-3 lead. Southern Connecticut countered with a spurt to cut the gap to 18-14 with just over nine minutes left in the opening frame. The lead was just 23-16 approaching the eight minute timeout.
• However, the Huskies closed the half on a spurt that allowed them to extend their lead to 44-28 at the break.
• The Huskies outscored the Owls by a 49-37 margin in the second half to make it a 93-65 final.

LANGSTON CONTINUES HIS SCORING PROWESS
Senior Greg Langston, who averaged just over 16 points a game a year ago for the Owls, maintained his success on the offensive end with an 18 points against UConn and 21 against URI.

MALLORY MAKES A MARK
Freshman guard Michael Mallory stepped right into the Owls' rotation in the exhibitions. He finished with 13 points, along with three three-pointers, in the game against the Huskies. Mallory had 19 points against URI.

WILLIAMS CRASHES THE BOARDS
Sophomore Stefon Williams had a team-high 10 rebounds in the opener against UConn. His previous single-game best during the regular season last year was eight boards.

MAKING STRIDES ON THE GLASS
Southern Connecticut outrebounded UConn by a 48-43 margin in its exhibition opener.

NEW ARRIVALS
The Owls welcome five newcomers to the squad for the 2013-14 season - Michael Mallory, Austin Carter, Michael Bozzuto, Jonathan Paul and Dominic Migliaro.

WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns eight players from last year's squad - senior Greg Langston, juniors Jose Cruz, Luke Houston and Tylon Smith and sophomores Stefon Williams, Deshawn Murphy and Jack McCarthy and redshirt freshman Lucas Van Nes.

THE CAPTAINS
Head coach Michael Donnelly announced that senior Greg Langston and juniors Tylon Smith and Luke Houston will serve as team captains for the 2013-14 season.

ON THE BRINK
The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team just missed out in its first NCAA Tournament berth in more than a decade. The Owls were ranked as high as No. 4 in the region during the year and closed the campaign with a 17-10 overall mark. It marked the second straight year that the Owls posted a winning record. In addition, the team also finished in fifth place in the Northeast-10 Conference, matching its highest placement since joining the league.

DONNELLY BUILDING A FOUNDATION
Owls' coach Michael Donnelly enters his fourth season at the helm of the SCSU men's basketball program in 2013-14. Over the course of his first three years, he has guided the Owls to steady win total improvements. Donnelly inherited a team that won just two games the year prior to his arrival and has since followed up with campaigns of 12, 14 and 17 victories. He has a 43-38 record as head coach at SCSU, which includes three straight trips to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, a program first. Prior to his hiring at SCSU in May, 2010, Donnelly spent seven years as the head coach at Post University.

TWO OWLS RECOGNIZED BY NORTHEAST-10
Trevon Hamlet and Greg Langston were both recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference for their play during the 2012-13 campaign. Hamlet and Langston were both selected for the All-Conference squads. It was the third year in a row that Hamlet had collected All-NE-10 honors and the second consecutive for Langston.

HAMLET RAKES IN THREE MORE HONORS
Trevon Hamlet was also named to the Daktronics All-Region and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region teams for his play during the 2012-13 campaign. He was also named to the 2013 Reese's® Division II College All-Star Game.

SMITH NAMED TO NE-10 MEN'S HOOPS ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Tylon Smith was selected to the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball All-Academic Team for his work in the classroom and on the court. He averaged 10.2 points per game and had a team-high 6.8 rebounds.

EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
Southern Connecticut had four student-athletes selected to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the 2012-13 academic year.

HAMLET FINISHES AMONG NCAA BLOCKS LEADERS
Trevon Hamlet finished last year ranked No. 10 in Division II blocks/game. Hamlet averaged 2.4 blocks per contest on the year.

BREAKING INTO ELITE COMPANY
Trevon Hamlet and Greg Langston both joined exclusive company by crossing the 1,000 point threshhold for their careers. Hamlet scored his 1,000th point as an Owl against Pace on Nov. 28, while Langston eclipsed the mark at UMass-Lowell on Jan. 12.

A YEAR FOR MILESTONES...
While there is no question that the Owls have made considerable strides during Mike Donnelly's three-year tenure, the 2012-13 team achieved several key milestones:
• The 17 wins were the most by a SCSU team since the 1999-2000 team that won 25 games. The Owls had not won more than 14 games in a season since 2001-02.
• The win over Stonehill was the first for the Owls over the Skyhawks since the 2006-07 season.
• The win at Southern New Hampshire was the Owls' first win in Manchester in 14 years.
• The win over Bentley was the first for the Owls since 1992. Bentley had won 17 straight in the series.

UP NEXT
The Owls face Concordia on Nov. 15. The game will tipoff at 6p.m..