NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team clinched a Northeast 10 Conference Tournament berth as they defeated University of New Haven, 73-67, at James Moore Field House. With the win, the Owls sweep the season series against the Chargers and improve to 14-10 overall and 9-8 in the NE10, while New Haven drops to 11-13 overall and 9-9 in the NE10.
Lyron Bennett (Boston, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. The freshman point guard filled the box score with six rebounds and a team-leading seven assists for the night. Senior Taurus Adams II (Milwaukee, Wisc.) finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
First Half
- Southern and New Haven traded baskets through the first eight minutes with the Chargers taking a 13-12 lead with 11:59 to play. Southern then rattled off a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 22-13, with eight minutes to play.
- C.J. Seaforth (Hamden, Conn.) book-ended the run with a three-pointer to get it started and capped it with a lay-up. Adams II also dropped in four points during the run.
- New Haven responded with a 14-4 run to to take a 27-26 lead. Adams II drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to push Southern's lead to 29-27 heading into the half.
- The Owls' senior poured in 11 of his 19 points in the first frame.
Second Half
- New Haven scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 34-29, their largest of the game. Greg Jones (Bronx, N.Y.) knocked down a three and then scored on a drive to the hoop to tie it at 34-34.
- After New Haven took a 37-36 lead, Southern went on a 12-2 run, with six points from Bennett and four from Adams II, to take a 48-39 lead.
- Southern maintained an eight-point lead at 56-48 with 6:49 to go. However, New Haven was able to cut Southern's lead to 63-61 with 1:34 remaining.
- Southern went 8-for-11 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
- Bennett took over for the Owls in the second half, scoring 15 of his 22 points down the stretch.
Player Game Notes
- Bennett's 22-point performance matches his career-best that he tallied against University of the Sciences on Dec. 14, 2019.
- It was also his third 20-point game of the season, and his career, and his first against a conference opponent.
- Bennett has come on strong as of late, averaging 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in his last five games. He's also hit on 52.9 percent of his shots from the field and 53.0 percent (8-for-15) of his three-point attempts in that span.
- Bennett becomes the first Southern freshman to record at least 200 points and 75 assists in a season since Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.) did so in 2015-16.
- Adams II has scored at least 15 points in a game in 13 of his 20 games played this season.
- For the season, Adams II has scored 44 points against the Chargers on 64.0 percent shooting (16-for-25) in two games.
- Jones tied a career-high with his three blocked shots, and has blocked three shots in back-to-back games.
- This is the second time this season Jones has blocked three shots in back-to-back games, as he also did so against Concordia and American International on Nov. 23 and Nov. 26, 2019.
Team Game Notes
- The Owls have made the NE10 Tournament in 10 consecutive seasons dating back to 2010-11, the longest current steak among NE10 programs.
- Southern has also made the NE10 Tournament in seven straight seasons since the NE10 adopted the Northeast and Southwest Divisions prior to the start of the 2013-14 season.
- Southern swept the season series against New Haven for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
- Southern is 10-5 in their last 15 games against the Chargers since the 2013-14 season.
- The Owls recorded a season-high eight blocked shots.
- This was Southern's 180th NE10 win in program history.
Up Next
Southern will host The College of Saint Rose for its final regular-season home game of the 2019-20 season on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. Prior to the start of the game, Southern will honor Adams II as part of Senior Day.
