2016-17 Southern Connecticut State University Men's Basketball Notes
Southern Connecticut State University (8-3, 5-1 NE10) vs. Caldwell University (7-3, 4-1 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference)  
Dec. 19 • 1 p.m. • New Haven, Conn. 
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Notes as PDF | SCSU Roster | SCSU Schedule | 2016-17 Combined Stats

The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team is set to take on Caldwell University on Monday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. in New Haven, Conn. 

ALL TIME VS. CALDWELL UNIVERSITY 
SCSU is 2-0 all-time versus Caldwell University. In last year's meeting, the Owls defeated the Cougars, 100-71.
The Last Meeting - SCSU 100, CU 71 - Freshman Isaiah McLeod scored a career-high 24 points in 22 minutes on 8-of-10 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range. He also added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. 

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Caldwell (7-3, 4-1 CACC) stands first in its division with wins over Roberts Wesleyan, Felician, Lincoln, Nyack, Mercy, Dominican and Concordia, with losses from Daemen, Bridgeport and Post. The Cougars rank second in the CACC in both scoring (81.7 ppg) and points allowed (77.1 ppg). The Cougars have four players scoring in double figures in Derek Dorn (15.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg), Vaughn Covington (13.7 ppg and 4.7 apg), Zay Jennings (12.8 ppg and 3.9 rpg) and Ahmad Harrison (10.3 ppg and 2.9 rpg). 

LAST THREE GAMES
SCSU played three games last week, securing two wins. The Owls kicked off the week with a 85-75 win over Molloy, followed by a 68-63 win over Pace. In its final game of the week, SCSU fell short to Le Moyne, 81-63.  

MAKING HIS PRESENCE FELT
Junior Jerry Luckett, Jr. recorded two double-doubles last week against Molloy (22 points and 12 rebounds) and Le Moyne (13 points and 12 rebounds). The junior has a combined four double-doubles on the year. 

BOZZUTO FARING WELL
Senior Michael Bozzuto scored a season-high 10 points in 28 minutes of play against Le Moyne College. 

MALLORY IN THE BOOKS
Michael Mallory continues to make his mark in the SCSU record book:
• He became the all-time leader in field goal attempts with 1,594 at Pace on 12/7.
• He is now second in career field goals made with 720, which is 15 back of Michael Prim for first all-time.
• He is now in seventh in school history with 130 career steals. 

MALLORY MOVING UP IN NE10 RECORD BOOKS
Michael Mallory is ranked ninth in NE10 history in scoring with 2,056 points and is 12 points behind Jason Westrol of Bentley for eighth place

MALLORY BECOMES OWLS ALL-TIME LEADER IN POINTS
After a 30-point performance against AIC, senior Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) passed Rich Radicioni as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,938 career points and counting.

NATIONAL RANKS
Michael Mallory (23.7 ppg) currently ranks 10th in the country in scoring.

2K POINT CLUB
Thanks to his 20-point performance in a 68-66 win over Saint Rose, Michael Mallory reached the 2,000 point mark in his career.

LUCKETT NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Jerry Luckett was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll for his play against Molloy, Pace and Le Moyne.

AUSTIN CARTER CLOSING IN 
Senior Austin Carter  is three blocks shy in becoming the program's second all-time leader in blocked shots, trailing Trevon Hamlet (188). 

THE SOPHOMORES
Entering the week, Joey Wallace is fifth in the NE10 in assists with 4.8 apg and ranks third on the team in scoring with 12.9 ppg. Isaiah McLeod is averaging 9.7 ppg and has scored over 10 points in seven of the Owls' 11 games this season. 

NE10 RANKINGS
Entering the week, the Owls rank first in offensive rebounds (13.3 rpg), second in both blocks (5.0 bpg) and free throw percentage (77.5), third in rebounds per game (38.9 rpg) and fifth in points per game (80.4 ppg). SCSU stands in first place in the Southwest Division with a conference record of 5-1.

D2SIDA WEEKLY REGIONAL RANKINGS
SCSU is ranked third in this week's D2SIDA East Regional Poll.

TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Individual averages through 11 games:

• Michael Mallory - 23.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg
• Jerry Luckett, Jr. - 16.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg
• Joey Wallace - 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 4.8 apg (10 games played)
• Austin Carter - 9.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 2.1 bpg ( nine games played) 
• Isaiah McLeod - 9.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg

 
IN THE PRESEASON RANKINGS
SCSU has been well-recognized in both the conference and national polls.
- NE10: No. 1 in the Southwest Division 
- Division II Bulletin: No. 4
- NABC Coaches' Poll: No. 13 
- D2SIDA National Poll: No. 15

RECAPPING LAST YEAR
The Owls are coming off a year in which they went 22-8, finished first in the NE-10 Conference Southwest Division and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The Owls elevated as high as No. 2 in the national rankings last season.

A FINE FIRST SEASON
Owls' coach Scott Burrell was selected the 2016 ECAC Coach of the Year after leading the Owls to 22 wins and a NCAA berth in his first season. 

RETURNING STARTERS
Southern Connecticut will be led by senior Michael Mallory, who led the team with 23 points per game and was selected as an All-American, All-ECAC, All-Region and All-Northeast-10 Conference performer. Classmate Austin Carter averaged 9.8 points per game, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and was named 2015-16 Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Sophomore Joey Wallace averaged 7.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds and was named to the NE-10 All-Rookie Team. 

MALLORY CHOSEN TO PRESEASON "SUPER 16" TEAM
Michael Mallory has been selected to the Division II Bulletin's preseason "Super 16" Team. 

MALLORY NAMED SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
For the second year in a row, Michael Mallory was named to the Sporting News preseason All-America Team. 

SOME RECORDS OWNED 
Michael Mallory set a new SCSU single-season program record with 95 three-pointers made last year and is also currently the Owls' all-time leader in three-pointers made with 294 and three-point attempts with 759. He also holds Southern's single-game scoring record with 47 points in a January, 2016 win over Bentley.

CARTER DOES IT DEFENSIVELY
Austin Carter earned the 2015 NE10 Defensive Player of the Year Award.

HEAD OF THE PACK
Seniors Michael Mallory and Austin Carter will serve as team captains for the 2016-17 season. 

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The Owls welcome juniors Jerry Luckett, Jr. and Bernard Brantley and freshmen Noah Miree, Donte Etheridge and Taurus Adams II to the team this year.

WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns nine players from last year's squad - seniors  Michael Bozzuto, Austin Carter, Michael Mallory, Dominic Migliaro, Jonathan Paul and sophomores Toby Christensen, Isaiah McLeod and Joey Wallace.

TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY
Moore Field House has been a tough place to play for the Owls who are 40-9 (.816) at home since the start of the 2013-14 season. SCSU has been even better in NE10 action with a 33-3 mark (.916) in league games.

FACING SOME TOUGH COMPETITION
The Owls will face five teams that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago – Bentley, Holy Family, Southern New Hampshire, Stonehill and Saint Anselm.

RECENT SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Owls have been victorious in their last six season-opening games dating back to the 2010-11 season, defeating Molloy, Goldey Beacom, Post, Chestnut Hill, Dominican and Dowling.

THRIVING IN THE CLASSROOM
For the second year in a row, the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as a recipient of the 2015-16 Team Academic Excellence Award for its success in the classroom. In addition, five members of the team were selected as honorees for the 2016 NABC Honors Court - Michael Bozzuto, Austin Carter, Michael Mallory, Jonathan Paul.

UP NEXT 
SCSU is back in action on Monday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. as it hosts Holy Family.