Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior guard Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) tallied a season-high 42 points and became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Northeast-10 Conference as the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team claimed a 109-98 victory over Southern New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
TEAM RECORDS: Southern Connecticut (18-12) | Southern New Hampshire (21-9)
 
Jerry Luckett, Jr. (Milwaukee, Wisc.) matched a career-high with 30 points to help the seventh-seeded Owls knock off the No. 2 seeded Penmen. Isiah McLeod (Cambridge, Mass.) added 19 points in the win.
 
Southern Connecticut will now play Saint Rose for a berth in the regional final on Sunday at 5 p.m. The teams split in the regular season – the Owls won a 68-66 decision in Albany, the Golden Knights won a 72-70 decision in New Haven.
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:


The Owls shot 54.5 percent from the floor for the game and led by as many as 18 points in the second half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first half featured 31 fouls, 19 called against the Owls. It was a slow-moving first half, but a tightly contested one. In addition, the Owls led for almost all of the entire frame. After McLeod hit two free throws to snap an early 8-8 tie, SCSU never trailed again.
 
The game was tied at 15-15, 17-17 and 37-37. The final tie was snapped courtesy of two free throws from Mallory, who had 23 in the first half as the Owls carried a 56-48 lead into the locker room.
 
Mallory hit a three-pointer to start the second half and a few minutes later went to the hoop for a driving layup that moved him past Assumption's Drew Adderly into first place all-time with point No. 2,490. He later eclipsed the 2,500 point mark for his career. SNHU cut an 18-point deficit to six with 4:33 remaining, but the Owls took care of business late to win a NCAA Tournament game for the third time in four years.