Bentley Ben 13-7,6-5 NE10

Southern Conn. St. SCSU 9-10,5-6 NE10

Bentley Ben

13-7,6-5 NE10

Final

Jan. 31, 2026

Southern Conn. St. SCSU

9-10,5-6 NE10

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bentley Ben	34	44	78
Southern Conn. St. SCSU	44	38	82

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/31/2026 5:34:00 PM

SCSU Men's Basketball Tops Bentley, 82-78, Behind Ellison's 32 Points

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut men's basketball defeated Bentley, 82-78, in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at James Moore Field House. With the win, the Owls improved to 9-10 overall and 5-6 in the NE10 while Bentley dropped to 13-7 overall and 6-5 in conference play.

Including the Owls' 63-60 win against Bentley in Waltham, Mass. on Jan. 4, Southern Connecticut has now swept the regular-season series against the Falcons for the first time in program history. Justice Ellison led all scorers with 32 points – his most as an Owl after transferring from AIC and the most this season for Southern Connecticut – and grabbed 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Cherif Diarra flirted with a triple-double and finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists. Diarra also matched the Owls' season best with three blocks in the game. Simon Percy finished with 14 points.

Southern opened the game with a 15-4 run that saw the Owls convert on 7-of-8 attempts from the floor with Simon Percy (6) and Justice Ellison (4) combining for 10 of the Owls' first points. The Owls used the strength of 11-of-13 shooting in the game's first nine minutes to take its biggest lead of the game, 25-10. Ellison pushed his first-half total to 17 points with 13 down the stretch as the Owls went into the break with a 44-34 lead. Ellison contributed six rebounds and two steals while Percy total 11 points in the game's first 20 minutes.

In the second half, Bentley chipped away at the Owls' lead before Southern used a 6-1 run to take a 54-46 lead with 13 minutes to play. Up to that point in the game, Southern was shooting a blistering 60% (24-40) but the Falcons converted on 13-of-16 from the free throw line with the Owls shooting just six from the charity stripe.

Bentley moved within five points, 55-51, before the Owls pushed their lead to 65-53, after a 10-5 run, that included seven-straight points from Ellison who was enjoying the best performance of his Owls' career. Southern pushed its lead to 13 points late in the game and withstood a 12-4 Bentley run over the last 1:30 to hang on for the win.

For Diarra, he currently sits at 988 points, 988 rebounds, 263 assists and 173 blocks for his career. Diarra looks ahead to a matchup against Pace as he chips away at reaching the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound marks, which would make him the fourth player in program history to do so. He currently ranks fourth in career rebounds and career blocks.

The Owls host Pace on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at James Moore Field House.

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