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OWLS SWOOP BACK INTO DIVISIONAL PLAY
The Southern Connecticut State men's basketball team (15-5, 10-3 NE-10) will battle cross-town rival New Haven for the second time this season on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Moore Field House. Southern will then hit the road to take on Le Moyne on Saturday afternoon.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST NEW HAVEN AND LE MOYNE
The Owls enter this week's matchups with a 36-41 record all-time against New Haven and a 15-19 mark against Le Moyne. Southern is 1-0 against each team this season.
 
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
•  The Owls edged the Chargers 74-65 in West Haven back on Jan. 3. Senior Luke Houston chipped in a team-high 21 points and five assists, and sophomore Michael Mallory added in 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior Tylon Smith added in 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the winning effort. Off the bench, sophomore Austin Carter totaled 11 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of action. For the Chargers, the nation's leading rebounder Eric Anderson, amassed a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds.
• Southern topped Le Moyne 102-66 in the team's final game prior to the Christmas holiday on Dec. 21. Houston had a game high 27 points and was 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 7-for-11 from three-point range. Mallory had 23 points, four rebounds and three assists, shooting 8-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arch. Junior Stefon Williams chipped in 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds on 8-for-10 shooting. Smith had 11 points and a game-high nine assists on 3-for-5 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arch. As a team, Southern shot 53.3 percent (38-for-71) from the field, including 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from three-point range, as nine different players scored at least three points.
 
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
New Haven (12-8, 7-6 NE-10) enters the matchup coming off a 60-39 win at Merrimack on Saturday, holding the Warriors to just 23 percent shooting. It was the fewest point allowed in a single game by the Chargers since they held Le Moyne to 38 points two years ago. The win snapped a three-game losing streak. UNH is 6-3 away from Charger Gymnasium this season, and hold a 2-4 mark against NE-10 Southwest Division opponents. The Owls and Chargers share 13 common opponents so far this season, with New Haven holding an 8-7 mark against those teams, while the Owls are 10-4. UNH's offense is outscoring opponents by an average margin of 65.8-63.5. Senior center Eric Anderson is the nation's leader with 13.2 rebounds per game, and also leads the Chargers in scoring with 16.3 points per game and 4.4 assists per game. He was named the National Player of the Week on Jan. 7 and has 12 double-doubles on the season, and 52 for his career. He is the only player in the East Region to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists per game this year. Sophomore guard Jemal Mosley is second on the squad with 14.9 ppg and has scored at least 13+ points in 12 of his last 14 games. Mosley is also tied for 20th in D-II in 3 PT per game (3.10). Freshman Tommy Hunt averages 6.2 ppg, is shooting 34.7 percent from beyond the arch, and 101 of his 108 shots attempts this season have been from three-point range. Senior Samir McDaniels is second on the team in shooting at 52.9 percent (45-for-85) and averages six ppg. Jonny Ocasio averages 9.9 points and 24.8 minutes off the bench. Senior Cyrus James, who leads the Chargers at 60.5 shooting, will miss the game due to injury.
 
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Le Moyne (13-8, 7-7 NE-10) will travel to Adelphi on Wednesday evening for a NE-10 SWD tilt before hosting the Owls on Saturday. The team enters the week 5-1 against NE-10 SWD opponents, with their lone defeat coming against the Owls back on Dec. 21. The teams have 12 common opponents (all NE-10 schools) this season, with the Dolphins holding a 7-5 record against those teams, while Southern is 9-3. Le Moyne is outscoring its opponents by just over one point so far this season, 66.48-65.43. Qwadere Lovell is tops on the Dolphins with 19 points per game, 4.62 assists per game and 30 steals this season. Connor Mahoney averages 9.4 ppg and a team-best 34.7 3fg%. Ryan Romich is shooting a team-best 59.4 percent from the field, and Stan Buczek averages 7.3 ppg and 45.7 percent from the field.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 Southern needed double overtime to pull off a big 92-81 victory at Assumption on Saturday. After leading by 19 early in the second half, the Owls persevered and outscored the Greyhounds 15-4 in the second overtime. It was the Owls' first double-overtime game since they topped Concordia 99-94 on Dec. 15, 2012. The Owls had success from the charity stripe, going 26-for-32 (81.2 percent) from the free throw line in the game. Senior Tylon Smith tallied his second double-double of the season with 21 points and tied a season and career high with 10 assists, to go along with five rebounds. Senior Luke Houston led the team with 25 points and set a new career-high with eight steals. Junior Desmond Williams tied a season-high with 12 rebounds and set a season-high with four blocks. The game featured a combined 56 turnovers, with each team collecting 24 points off those giveaways, with Assumption holding a 21-8 advantage in second chance points.
 
BATTLE FOR REGION'S TOP SPOT
Southern Connecticut slipped two spots to No. 3 in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region rankings. American International received 29 points (SCSU received 25) and two first place votes in the poll, while the University of the Sciences received one first place vote and came in second.
 
CLOSE TO CRACKING NATION'S TOP 25
SCSU is receiving votes in this week's official National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll. The Owls find themselves ranked No. 30 nationally in this week's Bennett Rankings. The next national rankings will be released on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
 
OWLS AMONG NATION'S LEADERS
•  Entering this week, SCSU ranks fifth in NCAA D-II with 90.0 points per game. No other East Region team is ranked in the nation's top 50 in scoring. The team's 11.5 scoring margin is 29th in the nation. The team's 1,818 total points are eighth most in D-II.
•  The Owls have made 211 field goals this season, good for ninth best in the country. Their 540 attempted three-pointers rank them 14th. The team is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arch this season.
•  Tylon Smith is 30th in D-II, averaging 5.5 assists per game and 25th in the nation with 109 total assists. He also T-29th in D-II with 138 made field goals.
­•  Luke Houston is 22nd in D-II, shooting 45.9 percent from beyond the arch this season.
 
OWL'S AMONG CONFERENCE'S LEADERS
•  The Owls lead the NE-10 in points per game (90.9), blocks per game (6.6), steals per game (8.6), free-throw percentage (76.5), field goal percentage (.48), and three-point fg% (39.1).
•  Tylon Smith enters the week fifth in the NE-10 with 19.5 ppg. He is also eighth in the conference with a 53.5 fg% and 42.9 3fg%.
•  Luke Houston ranks third in the NE-10 by shooting 45.9 percent from beyond the arch this season, as well as 90.6 percent from the free throw line. He is also seventh with exactly two steals on average per contest.
•  Michael Mallory is 10th in the conference in scoring with 18.4 ppg and free throw percentage (84.4).
•  Desmond Williams enters the week fifth by averaging 1.4 blocks per game.
 
HOUSTON NETTING BIG POINTS
Luke Houston has scored at least 25 points on five separate occasions this season, including four games with 27+ points. He set a new career-high with 32 points on 11-for-17 shooting against Dowling in the season opener. He later dropped 31 on American Int'l on Dec. 6, shooting 10-for-17 from the floor. His 17.9 ppg ranks third on the squad this season.
 
MALLORY TAKING THE NEXT STEP
The reigning NE-10 Rookie of the Year has continued to blossom in his sophomore season. Mallory ranks 10th in the conference with 18.4 points per game and is shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 84.4 percent from the free throw line. He is also averaging four rebounds per game and is tied for second on the squad with 34 steals. He set a new-career high with 31 points against Caldwell on Nov. 22 and was perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arch against Saint Anselm on Jan. 13, when he shot 71.4 percent overall.
 
SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT
Southern had a sizzling 63.5 percent (47-for-74) shooting night on Jan. 13 against Saint Anselm, topping the Hawks 120-100. The team also shot 67.9 percent (19-for-28) from three-point range. Four Owls scored 22+ points, with Tylon Smith leading the way with a season-high 32 points.
 
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.
 
SNEAKERS FOR A GOOD CAUSE
The Owls took part in a Coaches vs. Cancer event from Jan. 17-24. Both coaching staffs in the team's three games against Saint Michael's, Stonehill and Franklin Pierce donned sneakers while dressed in their familiar game attire in conjunction with the Jan. 23-25 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend. Fans were able to make donations to the American Cancer Society throughout the week
 
PRIMETIME TELEVISION COVERAGE
On Jan. 7, the Owls held on to defeat Southern New Hampshire 75-70 in a regionally televised game on NESNplus.
 
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 DaryleBreland (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). The team later put up 120 points on Saint Anselm on Jan. 13.
 
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, the Owls will play their only non-region matchup of the season, when they welcome Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponent East Stroudsburg to Moore Field House on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. Conference divisional play then opens back up on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 3:30 p.m., when Southern will host Adelphi.