Box Score
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team lost to Saint Rose Saturday afternoon by a final score of 85-79 on Saturday afternoon. Desmond Williams (Torrington, Conn.) finished with a team high 30 points and nine rebounds. Brett Buser (Glendale, N.Y.) scored a season/career high 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field. Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) put in 18 points, 11 in the second half.

With the loss, the Owls fall to 19-6 overall and 14-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference while the Golden Knights improve to 11-13 and 9-9.



Saint Rose went on a 21-1 run midway through the first half to take a 36-15 lead. The Owls would respond in the final 5:10 of the half with an 18-5 run of their own. Isaiah McLeod (Cambridge, Mass.) converted the Owls' first field goal in over six minutes of action at that time. Buser scored seven of Southern's 18 points during the run including a three-pointer and a contested jumper. Williams closed out the half with a three-pointer which made it 41-33 at the break.

The Owls retained their momentum through halftime and began the second half on a 10-2 run to tie the score at 43. 

Both teams began to trade buckets midway through the second half. Buser hit a layup to give Southern a 53-52 lead but Anthony Russell of Saint Rose nailed a three to give the Golden Knights a 55-53 lead and force a Southern timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.) hit a layup to tie the game at 55. There were seven ties and 12 lead changes in the game.

Williams would hit back-to-back threes for the Owls to give them a 61-60 lead with 8:26 remaining. After a Tyler Sayre layup, Mallory hit a three to give Southern a 64-62 lead with 7:38 remaining. It would be the Owls' last lead of the game.

Boyd hit a three on the next Saint Rose possession followed by a quick steal by Damon Coleman. That sparked a 12-4 Saint Rose run to open up a six point lead for the Golden Knights. 

They extended it to seven when a Mallory jumper made it 77-72. On the next Owl possession, he hit floater in the lane to cut it to 77-74. But Sayre nailed a three to make it 80-74 and regain momentum for the home team.

Mallory hit another layup to cut it to four, then two free throws by Williams brought Southern Connecticut to within two with one minute left. Sayre got to the line on the next possession and hit both free throws to make it 82-78 with 30 seconds left to seal the win.

Saint Rose started the game hot going 4-of-5 from the field. They then missed next four which allowed Southern to climb back into the game in the early stages.

After Saint Rose's hot start, both teams began struggle shooting. At the 12:20 mark of the first half, the Owls were shooting 4-of-15 from the field while Saint Rose went 5-of-15. The Owls took their first lead at 12-11 with a Wallace layup but gave it right back with a layup on the other end.

Boyd lead all scorers at the half with 16 points and a team high five rebounds. He finished with 24 points.

Saint Rose forced eight first half turnovers from the Owls, leading to 14 points. On the other end, the Golden Knights turned it over four times themselves, and that led to 10 points for the Owls.

The Owls' next game is Wednesday when it hosts New Haven at 7:30 p.m. It will be the second time the Owls and Chargers face off.