2016-17 Southern Connecticut State University Men's Basketball Notes
Games 24-25
Southern Connecticut State University 
(15-8, 11-4 NE10) 
vs. AIC (9-15, 3-13 NE10)
Feb. 7• 7:30 p.m. • New Haven, Conn.
LINKS: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
SCSU vs. St. Rose (19-6, 11-5 NE10)
Feb. 11 • 3:30 p.m. • New Haven, Conn.
LINKS: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

Two stern tests are ahead this week for the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team as American International and Saint Rose visit Moore Field House. The Owls defeated both squads earlier in the year. AIC makes the trip to New Haven on Tuesday evening, with St. Rose venturing down on Saturday afternoon.

ALL-TIME VS. AIC
The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series versus the Owls with a record of 49-27. 

LAST TIME AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS
Michael Mallory scored a game-high 30 points and moved into sole possession of first place on the Southern Connecticut State all-time scoring list in a 92-87 win at AIC on Nov. 22, 2016.
• In total, the Owls had five players in double figures. Joey Wallace totaled 19 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Jerry Luckett, Jr. scored 13 points while Austin Carter and Isaiah McLeod each had 11 points.

ALL-TIME VS. ST. ROSE
Saint Rose leads the all-time series versus the Owls with an overall record of 20-15. 

LAST TIME AGAINST THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Jerry Luckett, Jr. scored the game-winning basket in the closing seconds to give the Owls a 68-66 victory over the College of Saint Rose on Dec. 3.
• Luckett led the Owls with 21 points and seven boards, while Michael Mallory also reached double digits with 20 points. He also went over the 2,000 point plateau for career points in the win. 

LAST TIME OUT
For the second game in a row, the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team had an opportunity to claim a victory on the final shot of regulation. Unfortunately, the Owls came up one point short in an 87-86 loss at Adelphi on Saturday.
• Michael Mallory scored 31 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Isaiah McLeod notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Toby Christensen contributed 17 points and seven boards for the Owls.

CHRISTENSEN MAKING HIS PRESENCE FELT
After battling through injury and averaging just 3.3 points a game through his first 12 appearances of the year, Toby Christensen has provided a spark as of late. He's averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game over the last two contests, including his first collegiate double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) against Merrimack.

OWLS CAUSING DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Southern Connecticut leads all Division II programs with seven different Owls - Taurus Adams II, Austin Carter, Toby Christensen, Jerry Luckett, Jr., Michael Mallory, Isaiah McLeod and Joey Wallace - having recorded a double-double in a game this year.

DID YOU KNOW?
Michael Mallory is now the NE10's all-time leader in field goal attempts with 1,876 and counting.

MALLORY EARNS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL SPOT
Michael Mallory was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll on Monday for his play against Merrimack and Adelphi last week. He averaged 29.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game for the Owls. He had 28 points, five rebounds and four assists and forced overtime with his tying hoop at Merrimack and then added 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Adelphi.

DYNAMIC REBOUNDING DUOS
The Owls have been receiving rebounding contributions across the board this year. Among the notable nuggets is that the last two occurrences in which two players had double-digit rebound efforts in the same game have involved four different players. Michael Mallory and Joey Wallace accomplished the feat against Bentley, while Jerry Luckett, Jr. and Isaiah McLeod did so against Holy Family.

CARTER MOVING UP
Senior Austin Carter notched three blocks in the win over Franklin Pierce on Jan. 21 to move into second place all-time in blocked shots at SCSU. He surpassed Trevon Hamlet, who had 188 in his three years as an Owl. Carter is also fourth amongst active Div. II players in career blocks wth 193 and counting. Carter was  named the 2015-16 NE10 Defensive Player of the Year.

AND SPEAKING OF BLOCKED SHOTS
With two blocks against Assumption, Michael Mallory has jumped into fifth place all-time at SCSU in blocked shots. He now has 109 blocks for his career coming into this week. 

GETTING SOME REINFORCEMENTS BACK
The Owls' rotation had a different look to it at SNHU thanks to the return of Austin Carter and Noah Miree. Carter had been sidelined for eight games due to injury, while Miree had missed two straight contests. In addition, freshman Taurus Adams II was back in the lineup for the first time in  13 games when he saw action against Adelphi on Feb. 4.

MALLORY TABBED FOR NE10 WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Senior Michael Mallory was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll on Jan. 23 for his play in the Owls' two outings against SNHU and Franklin Pierce. Mallory averaged 26 points, 7.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in helping the Owls to a 1-1 week, punctuated by his fourth career double-double (24 points and career-high 10 assists) in a win over Franklin Pierce. He also scored a team-high 28 points in a loss at SNHU, a game in which he also matched a career-high with four blocks.

LUCKETT, JR. NAMED TO NE10 WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Junior forward Jerry Luckett, Jr. was named to the NE10 weekly honor roll on Jan. 16. He averaged 23 points and 9.5 rebounds per game against Merrimack and St. Anselm.

BYNUM MAKING AN IMPACT
After a standout four-year career on the gridiron, one that included All-America honors as a junior, Kayjuan Bynum joined the Owls for the second semester. Thus far, he's averaging 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game off the bench for the Owls.

MOVING UP THE NE10 CHART
After starting the year outside of the top 20, Michael Mallory has moved all the way into sole possession of second place on the NE10 all-time scoring chart. He jumped past Jon Cronin and James Hector in the game at Merrimack on Jan. 30.
1. Drew Adderly, Assumption    2,489
2. Michael Mallory, SCSU    2,342
3. James Hector, AIC        2,306
4. Jon Cronin, Stonehill        2,301
5. Mario Elie, AIC        2,124    

CONTROLLING THE PAINT
Junior Jerry Luckett, Jr. (15.5 ppg and 7.6 rpg) has a total of seven double-doubles on the year and is second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding.

MALLORY AMONG THE NCAA'S BEST
As of Feb. 6, Michael Mallory was near the top among active players, in all three NCAA Divisions in several categories:
•1st in field goals attempted (1,876) 
•2nd in field goals made (823)
•2nd in points (2,342)
•4th in three-point field goals attempted (860)
Among all active NCAA Division II players:
•1st in field goals attempted 
•1st in field goals made
•2nd in points 
•2nd in three-point attempts 
•5th in three-point field goals made (325)

MALLORY IN THE SCSU BOOKS 
Michael Mallory has etched his named in the Owls' record book in numerous categories: (up-to-date through 2/6/17)
• First in field goal attempts (1,876) 
• First in career field goals made (823)
• First in three-point field goal attempts (860)
• First in three-point field goals made (325)
• Fifth in blocks (109) 
• Sixth in career steals (138)

THE SOPHOMORES
Joey Wallace (11.0 ppg and 4.9 apg) is sixth in the NE10 in assists and ranks fourth on the team in scoring. Isaiah McLeod (11.6 ppg and 4.9 rpg) has posted 15 double digit scoring efforts this season.  
 
MALLORY TAKES FIRST PLACE ALL-TIME
After a 30-point performance in a 92-87 victory over AIC, Michael Mallory passed Rich Radicioni as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,938 career points and counting.

ON THE NCAA SCORING LIST
As of 2/6/17, Michael Mallory (23.8 ppg) is ninth 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 2,000th point mark in his career.

A BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE IN THE NE10
Entering the week, the Owls sit half a game back of LeMoyne (12-4) and half a game ahead of Saint Rose (12-5) for first place in the Southwest Division with an 11-4 conference record. Southern New Hampshire is also 12-4 on the northern side of the standings.

IN THE PRESEASON RANKINGS
•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 NE10 Conference performer. Classmate Austin Carter averaged 9.8 points per game, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and was named 2015-16 NE10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Sophomore Joey Wallace averaged 7.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds and was named to the NE10 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-American Team. 

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

WELCOME BACK
Southern Connecticut returns eight 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
The Owls are 42-11 (.793) at home since the start of the 2013-14 season and 38-4 in NE10 play (.905) in league games.

SOME SCSU RECORDS OWNED
Heading into the year, Michael Mallory held the single-season record with 95 three-pointers made last year. Mallory ranks first all-time in 3-point field goals made (260) and  attempts (670). Mallory also recorded a career-high 47 points in a win against Bentley on Jan. 30, 2016

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 Feb. 15 for a road game at New Haven.