Box Score

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally ranked No. 14/20 Southern Connecticut State men's basketball team held off a late 17-3 run by Southern New Hampshire to win 75-70. Senior Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn.) led the team with 20 points and added six rebounds, sophomore Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) added 17 points and six rebounds, while junior Stefon Williams (Jamaica, N.Y.) added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Luke Houston Houston (Pearl River, N.Y.) also totaled 13 points in the win. With the victory, Southern improves to 11-3 overall (5-1 NE-10), while the Penmen fall to 7-5 (6-3 NE-10).

The two teams traded blows over the first 4:07, with the Owls leading 11-9 at the first media timeout. Three-pointers by Houston, Mallory, along with five points from Smith started the scoring for the SCSU.

Tight defense by the Owls caused a total of five turnovers before the next media timeout. The game remained close until a 7-0 spurt by the Owls brought the lead to double-digits for the first time at 24-14, forcing a Penmen timeout with 9:54 to go in the opening half. Five straight points from junior Deshawn Murphy (Hamden, Conn.) and a layup by Smith contributed to the run.

Mallory extended the lead back to 10 with five straight points, capped by a three at the 3:59 mark, bringing the Owls' advantage to 35-25. Following a media timeout, Houston hit his second three of the ballgame from the right side, making it a 13-point game. Smith then went coast to coast following a defensive rebound, giving SCSU its largest lead of the first half at 40-25.

After the opening 20 minutes, the Owls carried a 45-31 lead into the locker room. Smith led all scorers with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the opening frame. Mallory also had a strong first half shooting, netting 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting.

The Owls came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders as they were able to quickly build their lead up to 20 by the 16:52 mark following back-to-back layups by Stefon Williams.
The Penmen would get back within 14 over the next four minutes, but the Owls responded each time, including this Austin Carter layup to make it 61-43.



A Mallory steal just over two minutes later led to a fastbreak layup by Smith midway through the half, bringing it to 67-45.

Consecutive three, and two-point field goals by Mallory brought the lead to 72-53 leading into the third media timeout of the half.

From that point, the tide shifted dramatically as the Owls went ice cold from the floor. The Penmen battled back to within 72-67 with 20 seconds left. A pair of free throws by Houston with 18 seconds to go ended a 14-0 SNHU run, and gave the Owls a seven point lead. On the other end, Jeff Demezier banked in a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to make it a four point game. Smith was then fouled on the inbounds pass and sank one free throw to put the game away at 75-70. Overall, the Owls did not hit a single field goal over the final 7:33 of the game and were outscored 17-3 during that stretch.

The Owls return home for their next game this Saturday, Jan. 10 at 3:30 p.m. when they will host NE-10 foe Bentley.