View complete game notes as a PDF

TWICE AS SWEET
The Southern Connecticut State men's basketball team (24-7) will take on Southern New Hampshire (23-7) in Tuesday night's East Region Championship game at Butova Gymnasium in Springfield, Mass. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana. The Owls are the reigning East Region champions after defeating Saint Anselm 78-72 in last year's final.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST SO. NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Owls enter the East Region Finals with a 17-48 record all-time against the Penmen.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING WITH SNHU
• The then-nationally ranked No. 14/20 Owls held off a late 17-3 run by Southern New Hampshire for a 75-70 win on January 7 in Manchester, N.H. Tylon Smith led the team with 20 points and added six rebounds, Michael Mallory tallied 17 points and six rebounds, while Stefon Williams added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Luke Houston also totaled 13 points in the win. Elijah Bonsignore (5-for-12) and BJ Cardarelli (6-for-8) each had 13 points and four rebounds in the game for SNHU, while Rodney Sanders (6-for-12) added in 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Each team shot 47 percent from the field in the game, while the Owls were 10-of-23 (44 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
SCOUTING SO. NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Penmen (23-7) captured the NE-10's Northeast Division regular season title with a 17-4 record, before advancing to the NE-10 semifinals, falling 82-79 to American Int'l. The team is led by First Team All-NE-10 selection, and Second Team All-Region pick, Rodney Sanders who averages 17.7 ppg. NE-10 Second Team honoree Elijah Bonsignore scores 15.5 ppg and leads the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game. BJ Cardarelli chips in 10.3 ppg, just ahead of Devin Gilligan who registers 9.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg. As a team, the Penmen average 75.5 points per game (6th in NE-10), and are third in the conference by 46.5 percent from the field.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Owls advanced to the regional finals following the team's 86-65 win over top-ranked American International on Sunday night in Springfield, Mass. Luke Houston led all scorers with 20 points, Desmond Williams had his second straight double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting, and Michael Mallory chipped in 17 points off the bench. Tylon Smith registered 12 points and Stefon Williams finished in double figures with 10 points. Oscar Assie had a double-double to lead AIC with 15 points and 12 boards on 5-of-8 shooting. Cameron Dobbs added in 13 points and Nolan Woodward chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss. The game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties, before the Owls pulled away over the final seven minutes, closing the game on a 23-5 run. The Yellow Jackets season draws to a close at 24-7.
 
BACK FOR THIRD TIME
The Owls are making their third appearance in the Sweet 16 in program history, defeating New Hampshire College in 1997 and Saint Anselm in 2014. The team is vying for its third Elite Eight appearance.
 
DÉJÀ VU
This year's East Region Final is a rematch of the 1997 regional final where the Owls advanced to their first-ever Elite Eight with an 80-61 win over then-New Hampshire College.
 
SMITH IN RARE NATIONAL COMPANY
Tylon Smith is only one of two active players in the NCAA (all divisions) with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists for his career (the other is senior John Jordan of Div. I Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). Smith enters the regional final against SNHU with 1,761 points, 700 rebounds and 525 assists.
 
SMITH CLOSES IN ON ANOTHER RECORD
Tylon Smith is just two assists away from setting the program's single-season assists record. Already the program's all-time assists leader, Smith needs two more to pass Tim Greene's record of 176 set back in 1996-97.
 
SENIOR CLASS TIES RECORD
With the Owls' win over AIC on Sunday, the three-member senior class tied the program record for the most wins by one class throughout their career (85). They join T.J. Trimboli, the lone member of the Class of 2000 with that honor.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Desmond Williams leads the Owls this season with nine double-doubles. He has recorded a double-double in both of the NCAA regional games thus far.
 
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 18.4 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 88-for-208 (42 percent) from beyond the arc this season, after shooting 75-for-180 (41.7 percent) from three-point range last season. On March 15 against AIC, Mallory set a new program season record for three-pointers attempted.
 
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 18.4 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 East Region will advance to the Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana from March 25-28. The East Region champ will play the South Region champion (Lynn or Florida Southern) in the national quarterfinals.