NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team claimed a 100-89 victory over conference opponent Franklin Pierce at Moore Field House. The Owls improve to 11-8 overall and 6-5 in the NE10 while the Ravens fall to 10-9 and 5-6 in the NE10.
 
Isaiah McLeod (Cambridge, Mass.) collected 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal in the win along with teammate Ulyen Coleman (Brockton, Mass.) who scored 21 as well for the Owls on 7-for-12 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and one assist. Kealen Ives (Providence, R.I.) recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 assists on the night, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, while also tallying four rebounds and one steal. C.J. Seaforth (Hamden, Conn.) registered 19 points along with three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Taurus Adams II (Milwaukee, Wisc.) had 10 points and five rebounds for the Owls.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Owls came out of the gates on fire as they jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first five minutes of the half. Southerns' offense didn't slow down as it extended its lead to as many as 23 points, leading Franklin Pierce, 50-27, with 28 second left in the first half. The Owls went into the locker room up 50-30.
• The Owls maintained their double-digit lead until the Ravens went on a 16-3 run to come within eight of the Owls at the 6:09 mark, 76-68. A solid defensive effort by the Owls helped fend off Franklin Pierces' late surge and secured Southern's 11^th win of the season.

• Kealen Ives recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 assists. His first double-double of the season came on Nov. 18 2018 against the University of New Haven, when he recorded 18 points and 10 assists.
• Ulyen Coleman shot 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, his first made three-pointer since Jan. 1 at LIU-Post.
• With his 21-points against Franklin Pierce, McLeod now stands in 10^th place all-time with 1,533 career points and trails Tylon Smith '15 for 9th place all-time at SCSU with 1,761.
• Taurus Adams II recorded 10 points in the win, which is the third time this season that the junior has recorded double-digit points. The last time he hit double-digits was on Dec. 15, 2018 against Jefferson.
• Five Owls scored double-digit points: McLeod (21), Ulyen (21), Seaforth (19), Ives (18) and Adams (10). The last time five Owls hit double-digit points was on Jan. 19, 2019 against Stonehill.    

UP NEXT
The Owls are set to host No. 24 nationally-ranked Bentley University on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Moore Field House for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.