NEW HAVEN, Conn. -  The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team emerged victorious over Stonehill College in the first round of the Northeast 10 tournament, 80-75. The Owls improve to 18-11 overall while the Skyhawks fell to 14-15 overall.
 
Senior Kealen Ives (Providence, R.I.) led the Owls with 37 points, the most for a Southern player in a NE10 tournament game in program history. He shot 13-for-20 from the field and made six three-pointers, added seven assists and three rebounds in the win. C.J. Seaforth (Hamden, Conn.) tallied 16 points, all coming in the second half, after shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, with two assists and one rebound. Isaiah McLeod (Cambridge, Mass.) recorded 12 points, two assists and one rebounds. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Skyhawks jumped out to a 25-15 lead through the first ten minutes of play. However, the Owls went on a 14-7 run to come within three at the 3:28 mark. Stonehill maintained a three-point lead into the half.
• Stonehill hit 9-of-12 from three-point range that carried them throughout the first half. Brandon Twitty led the Skyhawks shooting 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.
• The Owls took the lead with 10:08 to play on an Ives three-pointer. The Skyhawks tied the game at 75 before Joey Wallace hit a three-pointer to give the Owls a 78-75 lead en route to an 80-75 win.

 
FACTS

• With his 37 points, Ives scored the most points by a Southern payer in an NE10 Tournament game, passing Desmond Williams who had 36 points on Feb. 28, 2016 against Southern New Hampshire in the NE10 First Round.
• Ives broke his career-high tonight passing his previous career-high of 29 on Jan. 26, 2018 against Bentley University.
• This is the second-straight year that Southern has won in the first-round of the NE10 tournament.

 
UP NEXT
The Owls will head to Manchester, N.H. on Sunday, March 3 to face the No. 1 Seed Saint Anselm for a 3 p.m. tipoff.