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DANCING ONCE AGAIN
The Southern Connecticut State men's basketball team (22-7) has earned the No. 5 seed in this year's NCAA East Regional Tournament. The Owls will take on fourth seeded University of Bridgeport in Saturday's first round action at 7:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to Sunday's regional semifinals against either American International or Philadelphia.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST BRIDGEPORT
The Owls have played Bridgeport more than any other school in program history, and enter Saturday's matchup with a 38-52 mark all-time against the Purple Knights.
 
PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH BRIDGEPORT
• Southern Connecticut and Bridgeport split a pair of games this season, with the road team coming out victorious in each meeting. Most recently, Bridgeport took a 66-63 decision in New Haven on Dec. 17. Devon Elliot had a game-high 22 points and five steals for Bridgeport, while Ernest Rouse tallied 14 points. Willie Williams III (10) and Eddie Asamoah (13) each had double-digits in rebounds. For SCSU, Tylon Smith led the team with 19 points and became the program's career assists leader in the game. Luke Houston registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Michael Mallory added 14 points and three steals, while junior Deshawn Murphy chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Southern.
• The Owls topped Bridgeport 99-78 back on Nov. 16. Three Owls had 20+ point performances as Luke Houston led the way with 29 points, eight rebounds and was 7-for-12 from three-point range. Michael Mallory had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Tylon Smith added a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists on 9-of-12 shooting. Bryce Ellie led the Purple Knights with 25 points in the loss, while Willie Williams III added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING BRIDGEPORT
The Purple Knights (24-6) enter the tournament after earning an automatic bid as the East Coast Conference champions. They are riding a nine-game winning streak and have won of 15 of their last 17. The Knights average 81.2 points per game and surrender 75.8 per contest. Devon Elliot (16.8 ppg), Willie Williams III (14.1 ppg), Ernest Rouse (14.0 ppg) and Jesse Jones (13.9 ppg) all score in double figures, with Williams leading the team with 9.2 rebounds per game. Williams, Jones and Eddie Asamoah are all shooting over 50 percent overall on the season, while Jones leads the squad from beyond the arch at 51.4 percent.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
The Owls hold an all-time record of 24-47 all-time against  the Yellow Jackets.
 
PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH AMERICAN INT'L
• The Owls dropped both matchups with American International this season: 100-91 on Dec. 6 and 95-87 on Feb. 24. The latter matchup snapped the Owls' nine game winning streak in a wild, down to the wire game that saw a combined 51 fouls called. Michael Mallory led all scorers with 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Tylon Smith had 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting and Desmond Williams had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Bobby Harris led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points as five AIC players scored in double figures. Southern shot just 20 percent (4-for-20) from three point range and 66 percent (23-for-35) from the free throw line
• On Dec. 6, Trahmier Burrell had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Bobby Harris had 27 points to lead AIC past the then-No. 2 Owls 100-91. Desmond Williams had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Owls. Luke Houston had a game-high 31 points in the losing effort, while Tylon Smith added 22 points and six rebounds.
 
SCOUTING AMERICAN INT'L
The Yellow Jackets (23-6) finished second in the NE-10 SWD before taking down Stonehill, So. New Hampshire and Saint Anselm by single digits to win the NE-10 Tournament. The Yellow Jackets are outscoring opponents by a 78.6-72.8 margin and are led by Cameron Dobbs with 18.7 ppg. Bobby Harris leads the team with 5.3 assists per game, and adds in 17.2 ppg and 5.8 rebounds per game. Trahmier Burrell (52.5 percent) and Marcus Porter (50.9 percent) lead the squad in field goal percentage.
 
PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH PHILADELPHIA U.
• The Owls have met Philadelphia three times in their history, with the Rams winning all three matchups, the last of which came during the 1965-66 campaign.
 
SCOUTING PHILADELPHIA
Coming off their second straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) title, the Rams (24-7) will face American Int'l in the first round. Nick Schlitzer (17.9 ppg), Derek Johnson (17.8), Peter Alexis (15.1) and Andre Gibbs (10.8) all score in double figures for an offense that averages 72.3 ppg. Alexis lead the squad by shooting nearly 60 percent on the season, while Johnson is shooting a team-best 40 percent from three-point range.
 
LAST TIME OUT
For the third time this season, Saint Michael's knocked off the then-No. 23 ranked Owls in the March 1 quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament by a score of 81-79. Deshawn Murphy led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including five three-pointers. Tylon Smith had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Luke Houston added 18 points and eight rebounds. For the Purple Knights, Corey Crawford II was 6-for-6 from three point range and finished with a team-high 22 points, and Mike Holton Jr. netted 21.
 
BACK-TO-BACK DIVISION CROWNS
The Owls won the Northeast-10 Southwest Division title for the second consecutive season, finishing with a 16-4 mark in NE-10 play, one game ahead of tournament champion, American Int'l.
 
MAGIC NUMBER OF 20
This is the second consecutive season the Owls have reached the 20+ win plateau. It is also just the second time in program history that Southern has won 20+ games in back-to-back seasons, with the other instance coming in the NCAA Tournament years of 1981-82 and 1982-83. It is the seventh time in program history that SCSU has won 20 games in a season. The Owls have earned a spot in the postseason (NCAA 5x, ECAC once) every time they have hit that total.
 
MALLORY SURPASES 1,000 POINTS
Sophomore Michael Mallory became the 28th player in program history to net career point 1,000 on Feb. 18 at Pace. Mallory is averaging 18.3 points per game this season and set a new career-high with 35 points on Feb. 11 against East Stroudsburg. Last season, he averaged 15.8 points off the bench for the Owls.
 
MALLORY FROM DOWNTOWN!
On Feb. 21 against Saint Rose, sophomore Michael Mallory sank his 79th three pointer of the season, setting a new program single season record for made three-pointers. The previous record of 78 was set by teammate Deshawn Murphy last season. Mallory is 82-for-195 (42 percent) from beyond the arc this season, after shooting 75-for-180 (41.7 percent) from three-point range last season.
 
OWLS IN NATION'S TOP 25
SCSU received votes in the March 3 edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll. The team was ranked No. 23 on February 24.
 
OWLS AMONG NATION'S LEADERS
•As of March 5, the Owls lead the nation with 182 total blocked shots, and are tied for the nation's lead with 6.3 blocks per game.
•SCSU ranks fourth in NCAA D-II with 90.2 points per game. No other East Region team is ranked in the nation's top 40 in scoring. The team's 11.9 scoring margin is 23rd in the nation. The team's 2,217 total points are sixth most in D-II.
•The Owls have made 294 three-point field goals this season, good for 10th best in the country. Their 774 attempted three-pointers also rank them 10th. The team is shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc this season.
•Tylon Smith is 20th in D-II, averaging 5.7 assists per game.
•Luke Houston is 17th in D-II, shooting 45.4 percent from beyond the arc this season.
 
OWL'S AMONG CONFERENCE'S LEADERS
•The Owls lead the NE-10 in points per game (90.2), blocks per game (6.3), steals per game (8.3), free-throw percentage (76.6), and are second in field goal pct. (47.6) and three-point fg% (38.0).
•Tylon Smith enters the week sixth in the NE-10 with 19 ppg. He is also seventh in the conference with a 54.9 fg%.
•Luke Houston ranks third in the NE-10 by shooting 45.4 percent from beyond the arch this season, as well as 87.6 percent from the free throw line. He is also eighth with 1.6 steals on average per contest. He is also 10th with 18.2 ppg.
•Michael Mallory is ninth in scoring with 18.3 ppg and sixth in steals with 1.8 per game. He is also seventh in free throw percentage (85.4).
•Entering the week, Austin Carter ranks third in the NE-10 with 1.7 blocks per game. Desmond Williams ranks ninth with 1.2 blocks per game.
 
NATIONAL BLOCK PARTY
Through March 5, the Owls led all of Division II in total blocks (182) and tied for first with Lynn with 6.3 blocks per game.
 
CRANKING UP THE D
On Feb. 4 versus New Haven, the Owls held the Chargers to just 46 points on 33.3 percent shooting. It was the fewest points allowed in a single game by the Owls since Feb. 19, 2008 when the team held UMass Lowell to 43 points.
 
HOUSTON NETTING BIG POINTS
Luke Houston has scored at least 25 points on six separate occasions this season, including five 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 ninth in the conference with 18.3 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line. He is also averaging 4.2 rebounds per game and leads the squad with 53 steals. His 1.8 steals per game ranks him sixth in the NE-10. He set a new-career high with 35 points against East Stroudsburg on Feb. 11 on 13-of-18 shooting. He was perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc 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.
 
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 Daryle Breland (1976-80) and T.J. Trimboli (1996-00).
 
HISTORIC START
The Owls 7-0 start to the 2014-15 season was 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)
 
WHAT A TURNAROUND
In the eight seasons prior to the arrival of Mike Donnelly, Southern Connecticut won 34 games. In 2013-14, 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 95-48 record as head coach at SCSU, which includes five 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.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of the SCSU/Bridgeport first round matchup will advance to Sunday's regional semifinal, where they will take on the winner of Saturday's game between American Int'l and Philadelphia.