WALTHAM, Mass. - Southern Connecticut men's basketball defeated Bentley University, 76-66, in the regular season finale on Tuesday night. The Owls improved to an overall record of 19-9 and an NE10 record of 13-9, while the Falcons dropped to an overall record of 19-10 and an NE10 record of 14-8.
Josh McGettigan led the team with 23 points, as he shot 8-for-20 from the floor, grabbed a team-best of eight rebounds, had a team-best of two blocks, two steals and two assists for the Owls.
Sean James recorded 12 points and shot a team-best 4-for-7 from the three-point line.
Marty Silvera had 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, had a steal and was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc against the Falcons.
Cherif Diarra was everywhere for Southern Connecticut as he had 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and was 100% from the free-throw line. In addition, Diarra recorded a team-best of five assists, four steals and team-best of two blocks and was 4-for-4 from the floor.
Kazell Stewart added eight points of his own, as he grabbed five rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Stewart was also 2-for-2 from the free-throw line against Bentley.
Christian Joe had six points, as
Mason Williams had two steals for the Owls.
In the opening minutes, the Falcons started off with an early 7-2 lead; however, Southern Connecticut responded with strong defense and key shots of their own. The Owls secured their lead around the 12-minute mark with a made free-throw by McGettigan. From that point on, Southern had their lead but Bentley continued to inch closer. The Owls held onto their lead going into halftime, with a score of 40-32 over the Falcons.
To start off the second half,
Marty Silvera hit a three-pointer and
Kazell Stewart made a layup to put Southern Connecticut up by 13 points.
Both teams were battling one another hard, as the Owls' lead would grow to 18 but it never did stay fully out of reach for Bentley. The Falcons made their possessions count as time decreased, they cut the lead to just 10 points; nevertheless, Southern Connecticut held on to get their 19th victory of the season.
The sixth-seeded Owls will host the 11th seed, American International College, on Friday, March 1 at 7:00 p.m. in the James Moore Field House in New Haven, Connecticut for the First Round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. Tickets for the game will be $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and youth under 18 and free for NE10 students with valid ID.
