NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team was defeated by No. 21 Bentley, 70-62, in a Northeast 10 Conference matchup at James Moore Field House on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Southern falls to 6-12 overall and 3-9 in the NE10, while the Falcons improve to 16-3 overall and 11-4 in the NE10.

Lyron Bennett (Boston, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while, Jamaal Waters (Hartford, Conn.) in his first career start, recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and added in five blocked shots. 

How It Happened
First Half

• Southern went on a 9-2 run to take an 11-8 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining. The Owls held Bentley to 4-for-16 shooting in the first seven minutes and forced five turnovers. Bentley answered with a short 7-0 spurt to retake the lead at 15-11. 
• A 10-2 run for Southern increased their lead to 21-17, their largest lead of the game, with 8:50 remaining. Bennett scored half of Southern's points during the two-minute stretch while C.J. Seaforth (Hamden, Conn.) capped it off with a three-pointer. 
• Both teams continued exchanging baskets late into the first half, and Southern still held a 27-25 lead with 4:44 remaining. Bentley finally was able to retake the lead momentarily on a three-pointer, but Bennett gave Southern the lead back on the following possession on a made jump-shot and Mason Romano (Newington, Conn.) made a free throw. 
• Bentley scored five straight points in the final minutes to take their largest lead of the half, 35-30. Bennett beat the halftime buzzer with a three-pointer to cut the deficit heading into the locker room. 
• Bennett led Southern in scoring in the first half, with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, while Isaiah Boissard (Walden, N.Y.) added nine. Southern held Bentley to 4-for-17 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Second Half

• Bentley started the second half by scoring the first eight points to take a 10-point lead. Bentley would then take their largest lead of the game, 49-37 with 13:20 remaining. 
• Southern roared back to retake the lead by going on a 13-1 run. Seaforth tied the game on a three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining before Waters made a layup to give Southern a 52-51 advantage with 8:29 to go. Waters also made a couple huge defensive plays during the run, coming up with three blocked shots. 
• With the score tied at 57 at the 4:14 mark, Bentley made five consecutive free throws to retake the lead for good. A big and-one conversion by Ulyen Coleman (Brockton, Mass.) made it 62-60 with 1:45 to go, but Bentley made their final eight free throw attempts to seal the win. 

Notes 

• Bennett has made eight field goals in back-to-back games, and recorded his ninth game this season with at least 15 points scored. 
• Waters recorded his first double-double of his career on the strength of a career-high 11 rebounds. 
• Waters becomes the first Southern player with multiple games with at least five blocked shots in a season since former NE10 Defensive Player of the Year Austin Carter did so three times during the 2015-2016 season. 
• Southern had just six turnovers, tied for their fewest in a game this season (Jan. 19 vs Franklin Pierce). The last time before this season they had six or fewer turnovers in a game was Jan. 16, 2016 against Saint Anselm, when they had four. 
• Southern's defense held Bentley to their lowest field goal and three-point percentage in a game this season. 

Up Next
Southern will host Pace on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2022 at Moore Field House.