COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team defeated Saint Michael's, 77-72, in a Northeast 10 Conference matchup, on Monday, Feb. 14, 202 at Ross Sports Center. With the win, the Owls improve to 7-14 overall and 4-11 in the NE10, while the Purple Knights fall to 7-15 overall and 3-12 in the NE10. 

Ulyen Coleman (Brockton, Mass.) had a game-high 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double while going 7-for-15 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Lyron Bennett (Boston, Mass.) put up 22 points and went 9-for-10 on his free throws. C.J. Seaforth (Hamden, Conn.) dished out four assists and recorded three steals, while Alex Lin (Hillsdale, N.J.) added nine points. Off the bench, Isaiah Boissard (Walden, N.Y.) went a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and scored eight points. 

How It Happened
First Half

• Southern scored the first six points of the game before Saint Michael's took a 12-11 lead with 13:21 remaining, their only lead of the half. Coleman got off to a quick start for Southern with five early points.
• Coleman and Seaforth made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Southern a 19-14 lead. After Southern upped their lead to eight on a layup by Boissard and a free throw by Evan Gutowski (Trumbull, Conn.), Saint Michael's scored the next five points to cut the lead back down to a single possession. Biossard knocked down a corner three-pointer, but the Purple Knights were still able to hang around with the score being 25-24 at the 5:26 mark.
• Southern went on a 9-1 run to turn a 29-27 lead into a 38-28 advantage with a minute to go in the half, their largest lead of the half. Saint Michael's scored right before the buzzer, and Southern took an eight-point lead into the break. Coleman made four free throws and Boissard connected on this second corner three-pointer of the half during the run. 
• Southern shot 5-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, and Coleman led the offense with 11 points. Boissard added eight points of his own.

 

Second Half

• Saint Michael's opened the second half on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 42. Southern then scored seven straight points to regain control and the lead at the 12:49 mark, with Coleman scoring five of the Owls' points.
• The Purple Knights were slowly able to work their way back into the game, and took their first lead of the half with 8:31 remaining and eventually led 57-55. 
• Bennett put Southern back in front with a three-pointer, and Lin broke a tie with a made layup and an and-one conversion to put Southern in the lead for good. 
• Saint Michael's would cut the lead back down to 62-61 with 4:34 remaining, but a 9-0 run by Southern gave them a 10-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, equaling their largest lead of the game. Bennett scored six points for Southern during their spurt, and then put Southern back up nine with a made jump shot after Saint Michael's connected on a three-pointer. 
• Saint Michael's battled back in the final minute, but the Owls held on to a five-point victory. 
• Bennett scored 12 points and went 3-for-3 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final six minutes and 26 seconds, helping turn Southern's two point deficit into a win. Coleman went 5-for-8 from the field and scored 12 points in the second half.

 


Notes

• Coleman scored a season-high 23 points, and equaled a Southern game-high for points in a game this season. It's the fourth time a Southern player has scored 23 points, as Bennett did so against Stonehill on Jan. 22 and Logan Bagshaw (Cumberland, Maine) did so against Assumption on Jan. 25, and Seaforth did so against Pace on Jan. 27. 
• This was Coleman's third 20-point game this season and 12th of his career.
• Coleman now has three double-doubles for his career, and his second this season. His last one came on Feb. 5 against American International. 
• Bennett scored at least 20 points in five games this season and in nine games for his career.
• With his 23 points scored, Coleman now has 922 for his career.
• Seaforth upped his career points total to 990.
• Southern had just nine total turnovers, while forcing 14. 
• Southern has defeated Saint Michael's in seven consecutive games dating back to the 2015-2016 season. 
• Head Coach Scott Burrell recorded his 98th career win. 

Up Next
Southern returns back to Connecticut to play University of New Haven on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.