NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Jerry Luckett, Jr. (Milwaukee, Wisc.) knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to give the No. 4 seeded Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team a 76-74 win over No. 5 Southern New Hampshire University in the opening round of the NE10 Tournament tonight.

RECORDS: SCSU (16-11) | SNHU (15-12)

OWLS STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points: Isaiah McLeod (22), Ulyen Coleman (15), Luckett, Jr. (12), Taurus Adams II (12)
Rebounds: Coleman (8), McLeod (7), Luckett, Jr. (6), Luke Beesley (6), Adams II (6)
Assists: Bernard Brantley (3), Coleman (2)
Steals: Brantley (2), Luckett, Jr. (2)

GAME HIGHLIGHTS AND POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH JERRY LUCKETT, JR.


HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Penmen jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. The Owls answered with a 8-4 spurt to tie it at 11-11. In all, there were eight ties in the first half alone, but the Penmen would go into halftime up by one, 37-36.

- Three-point shooting was the key for the first half as the Penman shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from beyond the arc compared to the Owls 28.6 percent (4-of-14).

- The Owls took the lead in the first 34 seconds of the second half off of a Bernard Brantley (Stratford, Conn.) three-pointer and led by five at 42-37. The Penmen would go on a 26-9 run to build their biggest lead of the game, 12 points, with 8:47 left. 

- The Owls would respond with a 14-6 run to come within four points of the Penmen with 3:41 left in the game. The Owls' defensive effort in the last three minutes was key as they caused four turnovers and allowed only three points. The Owls scored 11 points in the last 3:11 of the game.

- Two good free throws by McLeod evened the score for the last time at 74-74 in the closing seconds. Dimitri Floras missed a three-pointer with one second left in the game as the Owls called timeout. The Owls attempted a Hail Mary pass that resulted in a SNHU turnover down on the Penmen baseline with 0.4 seconds left.

- From there, Brantley inbounded the ball to Luckett, Jr., who would catch and shoot all in the same motion to beat the clock and seal the Owls' win in the first round of the NE10 tournament.    

UP NEXT:
With this win the Owls head up to Manchester, N.H. to face No. 1 seed Saint Anselm, with the game set for 3 p.m.