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No. 9/20 OWLS TO PLAY PAIR OF PIVOTAL NE-10 MATCHUPS
The Owls (12-3, 7-1 NE-10) continue their stretch of eight straight games against Northeast-10 Northeast Division opponents on Tuesday, Jan. 13 when they host Saint Anselm in a rematch of last season's NCAA East Region Championship. Southern will then travel to Saint Michael's on Saturday afternoon for a pivotal conference showdown.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST SAINT ANSELM AND SAINT MICHAEL'S
The Owls enter this week's matchups with an 11-22 all-time mark against Saint Anselm, and an 11-17 record against Saint Michael's.
 
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
•  Last season, the Owls topped the Hawks twice, including in the NCAA East Region Championship game. On Jan. 14, 2014, Southern knocked off Saint A's 101-91 in Manchester, N.H. Tylon Smith netted 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Owls in the win. Michael Mallory had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Houston also added 17 points.
In the NCAA East Region Championship matchup at SCSU, the Owls prevailed 78-72 to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Smith had another big game, picking up a double-double with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. Mallory and departed senior Greg Langston each chipped in 15 points for the Owls
• Earlier this season on Dec. 11, the Purple Knights topped the Owls 88-84 in a non-conference game, handing the team its second loss of the season. Smith (28 points), Houston (19) and Mallory (16) led the Owls' offensive attack, while SMC had five players (Crawford II, Holton Jr., Thompson, Cambronne and Bonds) score in double figures. Last season, SCSU defeated Saint Michael's 88-85 at Moore Field House on Jan. 18, 2014. Mallory led SCSU with a game-high 26 points, while Langston chipped in 22 points. Smith also added 15 points for Southern. James Cambronne led SMC with 23 points, while Mike Thompson had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Anselm 9-4 (6-3 NE-10) enters their matchup with the Owls coming off a 97-78 win at Adelphi on Saturday. They enter the week in second place in the NE-10's Northeast Division, just a half game behind first place SNHU. They are 1-2 this season against NE-10 Southwest Division opponents, defeating Adelphi and dropping a pair of games to New Haven. SCSU holds a 6-1 record against common opponents this season, while the Hawks are 4-3. Senior forward Chris Santo leads the squad with 19.7 ppg (t-5th in NE-10) and leads the conference with a 65.9 fg% (108-for-164). Senior guard Roy Mabrey is second on the team with 16.6 ppg and is shooting a team-best 90 percent from the free throw line. Junior Mike McCahey (15.2 ppg ) has a team-high 7.5 rpg and freshman Taylor Fortin leads the Hawks with 2.8 assists per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
Saint Michael's enters the week at 9-4 (5-3 NE-10) and in third place in the NE-10's Northeast Division. The Purple Knights will play a game at New Haven on Tuesday evening before taking on SCSU. The Knights are 2-0 against NE-10 SWD opponents this season, having beaten both the Owls and Le Moyne by single digits. Both teams have spotless 3-0 records against their three common opponents entering the week (Bentley, Le Moyne and SNHU). Mike Holton Jr. leads the team with 13.8 ppg, just ahead of Corey Crawford II, who averages 13.6 ppg. One thousand career points scorer James Cambronne is third on the team averaging 13.2 ppg. Off the bench, Matt Bonds has a team-high 9.3 rebounds per contest and averages 9.4 ppg. Cambronne is the most dangerous beyond-the-arch shooter in the NE-10, with a conference-best 51.3 3 fg%. Saint Michael's is outscoring their opponents by an average of 75.2-74-2 this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Owls outscored Bentley 46-31 in the second half, en route to an 89-77 victory on Saturday afternoon. Luke Houston led all scorers with 21 points, while adding six rebounds and three steals. Tylon Smith had a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 19 points and a game-high five assists. Michael Mallory chipped in 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and tied a career-high with four blocks. Desmond Williams totaled 18 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the win.
 
SOARING ATOP THE REGION
The Owls retained the No. 1 ranking in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region rankings. The Owls unanimously received all three place votes, while this week's opponents, Saint Anselm (5th) and Saint Michael's (t-10th) were also ranked in the poll.
 
RISING IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
SCSU jumped five spots to No. 9 nationally in the Bennett Rankings, released on January 12. The Owls have also been ranked No. 20 the last two weeks in the D2SIDA national rankings and were receiving votes in the official National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II rankings. The next D2SIDA and NABC national rankings will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
 
SMITH EARNS NE-10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior Tylon Smith was named the NE-10 Conference's Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 12. He averaged 19.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and 3 assists per contest in the previous week's matchups against SNHU and Bentley. He shot 53.5 percent (16-for-30) on the week, including 40 percent (2-for-5) from beyond the arch. His 20-point performance at SNHU on Jan. 7 was his sixth 20+ point performance of the season. He shot 50 percent from the field on Jan. 10 against Bentley, totaling 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Owls enter Saturday's showdown at Saint Michael's with a perfect 6-0 record on the road this season. The team also boasts a 3-0 record in neutral site matchups.
 
SCORING SPREE
Entering this week, SCSU ranks sixth in the nation by averaging 91.5 points per game this season. The Owls are the only East Region team ranked in the top 49 in Division II in scoring. The team's 1,373 total points are fourth-most in the nation.
 
LIVING DOWNTOWN
Entering this week, the Owls are tied for ninth-most three-pointers attempted in all of DII this season with 410. Their 162 made three-pointers rank seventh-best in the nation. For the season, the squad is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arch.
 
OWL'S AMONG NATION'S LEADERS
Tylon Smith enters the week of Jan. 12 tied for 31st in DII with 5.5 assists per game. Michael Mallory is tied for 19th in the nation with 299 total points and is 32nd nationally, fourth in the NE-10, with 19.9 points per game.
 
SNEAKERS FOR A GOOD CAUSE
On Saturday, the Owls will take part in a Coaches vs. Cancer event at Saint Michael's. Both coaching staffs will don sneakers while dressed in their familiar game attire in conjunction with the Jan. 23-25 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend. Fans will be able to make donations to the American Cancer Society during the afternoon.
 
PRIMETIME TELEVISION COVERAGE
On Jan. 7, the Owls held on to defeat Southern New Hampshire 75-70 in a regionally televised game on NESNplus.
 
MALLORY TAKING THE NEXT STEP
The reigning NE-10 Rookie of the Year has continued to blossom in his sophomore season. Mallory ranks fourth in the conference with 19.9 points per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and 86 percent from the free throw line. He is also averaging 4.6 rebounds per game and has a team-high 29 steals. He set a new-career high with 31 points against Caldwell on Nov. 22.
 
HOUSTON SETS NEW CAREER HIGH
Luke Houston set a new career-high with 32 points in the season-opener against Dowling. He has scored at least 27 points on four separate occasions this season.
 
SMITH STANDS ALONE ON CAREER ASSISTS LIST
Senior Tylon Smith became the program's all-time leader in career assists on Dec. 17 against Bridgeport. His 411th career assist passed Daryle Breland (1976-80) and T.J. Trimboli (1996-00).
 
HISTORIC START
The Owls 7-0 start to the 2014-15 season is tied for the second best start in program history, matching that of the 1996-97 team.The best start in program history came back during the 1949-50 season when the team opened the campaign 16-0.
 
EIGHT NET DOUBLE-DIGITS
On Nov. 21 against Felician, the Owls had eight players score in double-figures for the first known time in program history. Deshawn Murphy (18), Tylon Smith (16), Luke Houston (15), Michael Mallory (13), Desmond Williams (12), Michael Bozzuto (11), Austin Carter (11) and Stefon Williams (11) all helped the Owls to a 123-81 victory.
 
SCORING BIG
The 123 point outburst by Southern against Felician on Nov. 21 was tied for the second-most points in program history. The only other time the Owls scored 123 was in the 2000-01 season in a 124-123 OT loss to Pace. The program record of 124 points was set during the 1956-57 campaign against Hillyer (now the University of Hartford).
 
POLL WATCHING
Southern's No. 2 national ranking early in the 2014-15 season matched the highest mark in program history. The Owls peaked as high as No. 2 in the Bennett Rankings last year. Southern's preseason No. 2 mark in the NABC poll was also the highest ranking ever for the Owls in the coaches' poll.
 
PLENTY OF PRESEASON FANFARE FOR SMITH
The only player in Division II to average 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 2013-14, Tylon Smith has received significant attention from the media in the preseason. He was named a preseason All-American by the Sporting News and the Basketball Times and was a "Super 16" pick by the Division II Bulletin.
 
IN THE PRESEASON NE-10 COACHES POLL
In the release of the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches' poll, the Owls were picked first in the Southwest Division. SCSU received 14 out of a possible 15 first-place votes.
 
THE CAPTAINS
Head coach Michael Donnelly announced that seniors Tylon Smith and Luke Houston will serve as team captains for the 2014-15 season. It's the second consecutive year that the pair has filled this role.
 
NEW ARRIVAL
The lone newcomer to the Owls' roster this season is another talented Connecticut product, guard Desmond Williams. He was a two-time junior college All-American at the Community College of Rhode Island. In addition, his older brother, Jordan, has played in the NBA with the Nets.
 
WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns 12 players from last year's squad - seniors Jose Cruz, Luke Houston and Tylon Smith, juniors Stefon Williams, Deshawn Murphy and Jack McCarthy and sophomores Michael Bozzuto, Austin Carter, Michael Mallory, Dominic Migliaro, Jonathan Paul and Lucas Van Nes.
 
GETTING IT DONE ON BOTH ENDS
In addition to collecting a host of accolades for his on the court play, Tylon Smith was named to the 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-America® Division II basketball team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He was a Third-Team selection.
 
NO EASY GAMES
The Owls will face six teams that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago (Bridgeport, East Stroudsburg, Franklin Pierce, Le Moyne, New Haven and Saint Anselm).
 
CAPTAINS LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Senior captains Tylon Smith and Luke Houston were both named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court for their work in the classroom and on the court last year. Both have also been recognized as Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award recipients for their classroom prowess in each of the last two years.
 
A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Southern Connecticut finished last year with a record of 30-3 and reached the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, where it lost to the eventual national champion, Central Missouri. Along the way, the Owls also won their first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament titles. SCSU also produced a school-record 19 game winning streak during the course of the year.
 
IN SEASON OPENERS
The Owls are 29-36 all-time in season-opening games. SCSU has won its last five season openers, including an 104-88 win over Dowling this year.
 
A DIFFERENT YEAR
The Owls won 13 more games last year than in 2012-13. The baker's dozen win improvement was third best in Division II. Here's a look at the teams and the win improvements (2012-13/2013-14 win totals in parentheses).
1. UC-Colorado Springs  +16 (5-21)
2. Delta State   +15 (11-26)
3. Southern Connecticut  +13 (17-30)
3. Cal-State Stanislaus  +13 (10-23)
3. Fort Valley State  +13 (8-21)
 
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Deshawn Murphy set a new single-season record with 78 made three-pointers last year, surpassing Angelo Parenti (73, 1988-89). In addition, Murphy's 201 three-point attempts were also a new single-season record.
 
HOME COURT EDGE
Southern Connecticut went 11-1 at Moore Field House in the regular season and was 16-1 on its home court last year.
 
SMITH ETCHES NAME IN RECORD BOOK
Tylon Smith surpassed the 1,000 career points mark on Feb. 19 versus Pace. The guard totaled 1,171 points in his career over his first three years as an Owl. He enters his senior season in 20th place on the all-time scoring list at SCSU and is also 13th in career rebounding.
 
WHAT A TURNAROUND
In the eight seasons prior to the arrival of Mike Donnelly, Southern Connecticut won 34 games. Last year, he guided the Owls to 30 wins.
 
DONNELLY BUILDING A FOUNDATION
Owls' coach Michael Donnelly is in his fifth season at the helm of the SCSU men's basketball program in 2014-15. Over the course of his first four 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 followed up with campaigns of 12, 14 and 17 with 30 victories. The 2014 NE-10 and NABC Regional Coach of the Year has a 73-41 record as head coach at SCSU, which includes four 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.
 
THE ONE DEPARTURE LEFT QUITE AN IMPACT
The only player not returning from last year's milestone season is Greg Langston, who finished his career as the second-leading scorer in program history with 1,890 points. He capped his career by earning All-America honors from four separate organizations along with Northeast-10 Conference and ECAC Player of the Year honors.
 
MALLORY MAKE A QUICK IMPACT
Guard Michael Mallory made his presence felt during the 2013-14 season, earning ECAC and Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year honors. He finished the year with averages of 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
 
ON THE GLASS
Team rebounding was a strength for the Owls a year ago. SCSU averaged 43.3 boards per game, tops in the Northeast-10 Conference.
 
LAST YEAR'S CONFERENCE LEADERS
Many Owls finished among the NE-10 leaders in the regular season statistics.
•Greg Langston placed second in scoring average (21.1).
•Tylon Smith was fifth in scoring (18.3) and fourth in both shooting percentage (55.5%) and assists (4.8).
•Michael Mallory led all freshmen (16th overall) with 15.8 points per game.
• Luke Houston finished second in steals per contest (2.3).
 
20 WINS EQAULS THE POST-SEASON
The 2013-14 season was the sixth time in program history that SCSU won 20 games in a season. The Owls have earned a spot in the postseason (NCAA five times, ECAC once) every time it hit that total.
 
THRIVING IN THE CLASSROOM
Nine of the 13 members of last year's team were named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll during the course of the 2013-14 academic year. Student-athletes must maintain a semester average of at least 3.0 in order to be eligible for this honor.
 
100 NOTES
For the first time since the 1974-75 season, Southern Connecticut broke the century mark in consecutive games last year. The Owls followed up a 110-point showing in a win over Stonehill on Jan. 22 with 106 points in the road victory at No. 21 Franklin Pierce on Jan. 25.
• During the middle of January, the Owls surpassed the 100 point mark in three out of four contests.
• SCSU just missed triple digits in the 99-73 victory over AIC on Feb. 25.
• The extra made free throw versus the Yellow Jackets would have tied a program record set during the 1956-57 season.
 
WINNING SEASON
With the win over Stonehill on Jan. 22, the Owls secured their third straight winning season. The program last recorded three consecutive winning seasons from 1999-2000 to 2001-2002.
 
UP NEXT
Next week, Southern continues its stretch of eight straight games against NE-10 Northeast Division opponents as they travel to Stonehill on Wednesday, Jan. 21, before returning home to take Franklin Pierce on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3:30 p.m.