FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2014
Additional Info Provided by So. Connecticut Athletics Communications
Owls claim first-ever Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Championship
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Led by 22 points and seven assists from Tylon Smith, Southern Connecticut State University won the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship, 73-71, on Saturday afternoon in a thriller over crosstown rival University of New Haven at the Moore Field House.
Smith was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player and received a spot on the 2014 All-Championship Team, as did Owls senior Greg Langston and freshman Michael Mallory.
Representing New Haven on the All-Championship Team was senior Jeffery Adkins and junior Eric Anderson.
Adkins poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with nine rebounds in the loss, which drops the Chargers to 21-8 on the season. They now await a possible NCAA Tournament at-large bid on Sunday night in an online selection show (10:30 p.m.) at NCAA.com.
So. Connecticut (27-2), which won its first-ever Northeast-10 Championship in men's basketball, is expected to host the East Regional, which gets underway next Saturday.
Langston hit the game-winning three-pointer with 6.5 seconds left as the Owls rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit.The scene was set when Adkins answered a Luke Houston trey with a running layup with 46 seconds left.
So. Connecticut brought the ball down and worked a three-pointer for Deshawn Murphy. The sophomore's attempt clanged off the iron into the arms of Smith. With the shot clock off, the Owls' tri-captain brought the ball out to run the clock before giving Langston his moment at the top of the key.
The ensuing running floater at the buzzer by Adkins after the Langston trey was off the mark.
The Owls earned their first Northeast-10 title in an emotionally-charged game, which had 15 lead changes and six ties.
So. Connecticut trailed by seven, 58-51, with nine minutes left. But not even three minutes later, the game was tied for the fourth time at 60-60 on a Murphy three-pointer, while Mallory had four of the home team's nine points during the run.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Friday, February 28 - First Round | RECAP
Game 1: #4 NE So. New Hampshire 68, #5 SW American Int'l 53 | BOX
Game 2: #5 NE Bentley 93, #4 SW Saint Rose 79 | BOX
Sunday, March 2 - Quarterfinals | RECAP
Game 3: #1 SW So. Connecticut 75, #4 NE So. New Hampshire 63 | BOX
Game 4: #1 NE Saint Anselm 79, #5 NE Bentley 78 | BOX
Game 5: #2 SW New Haven 83, #3 NE Saint Michael's 65 | BOX
Game 6: #3 SW Le Moyne 73, #2 NE Franklin Pierce 59 | BOX
Wednesday, March 5 - Semifinals | RECAP
Game 7: #1 SW So. Connecticut 62, #3 SW Le Moyne 55 | BOX | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 8: #2 SW New Haven 85, #1 NE Saint Anselm 58 | BOX | HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, March 8 - Final | RECAP
Game 9: #1 SW So. Connecticut 73, #2 SW New Haven 71 | BOX
– #NE10 –
