NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern Connecticut beat American International College, 77-63, in a Northeast 10 Conference matchup in New Haven, Conn. on Dec. 31, 2022. With the win, the Owls improve to 9-4 on the season and are 4-2 in the NE10, while American International drops to 4-10 overall and 2-4 in conference play. The Owls are now on a six-game winning streak, the largest since winning streak since the 2018-19 season.
Sean James (West Hartford, Conn.) topped his career-high scoring record of 22 points from the last game versus Mercy College on Dec. 29 to a new best of 28 points in this win over AIC. James shot 9-of-18 from the field, and went 8-of-14 in three pointers evenly split between the halves. This is the most points scored by a Southern player since Isaiah Boissard had 31 against Pace on Feb. 11, 2020. James also scored the most three-pointers (8) since Ulyen Coleman scored 9 against New Haven on Jan. 31, 2018. He also recorded two successful free throws, three rebounds, and three assists. Zack Penn (New Hartford, Conn.) and Ulyen Coleman (Brockton, Mass.) each notched 16 points. Penn recorded his second-straight double-double of the season, and the fourth in his career at Southern. He recorded a career-high in rebounds with 17, the most since Taurus Adams II had against Saint Rose on Feb. 22, 2020 with 19. Ulyen Coleman went 7-of-13 from the field with two successful three pointers, while also grabbing three rebounds in the Owls win. Marty Silvera (Worcester, Mass.) recorded a season-high 12 assists in the game and also notched three points. This is the most assists in a game since Lyron Bennett had 12 on Dec. 7, 2021 against Saint Rose and is the fourth most in a game in program history.
Within the first nine minutes of the game, the Owls had risen to a 15 point advantage over AIC, 19-4. Ulyen Coleman converted nine points off of four-straight baskets during this period with one three pointer. The Yellow Jackets took a timeout to reconvene at the halfway mark of the half which increased their offensive efforts. AIC fought back within three minutes to narrow the score to 19-15 with eight minutes remaining in the half.
With just five minutes remaining, the Owls only held a three point advantage, 30-27, before pulling ahead off a layup by Coleman. The Yellow Jackets retaliated with a free throw, but Sean James responded with a far out three pointer followed by a good layup by Zack Penn to make the scoreline 37-28. At the halftime buzzer, the Owls held a ten point lead at 40-30.
AIC did not shy away from putting points on the scoreboard at the start of the second half. Within just five minutes, the score was tied at 44-44 off a three pointer by Buka Peikrishvili. The Owls responded back by scoring 11 unanswered points, including a three pointer by Sean James to kick it off followed directly by a roaring dunk by Kazell Stewart (East Hartford, Conn.). The Owls slowly started to widen their advantage over the Yellow Jackets as the game proceeded, gaining as much as a 16 point advantage with less than three minutes remaining, 73-57. Zach Penn recorded 12 points in the half to finish with 16 points, while also grabbing eight additional rebounds to total with 17. Sean James finished with 28 points, scoring 16 in the second half. The game concluded off of two good free throws by Sean James for a final score of 77-63.
Southern returns to action when they travel to Franklin Pierce University to kick off 2023 on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. in Rindge, N.H. for a Northeast 10 Conference matchup.
