FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2014
Courtesy of Southern Connecticut Athletics Communications
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Connecticut State University fell to Central Missouri, 98-88, on Wednesday afternoon at the Ford Center, the site of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
The Owls' season comes to a close at 30-3, while their school-record 19-game winning streak was also snapped.
Michael Mallory, one of four players to score in double figures, led the Owls with 22 points. The freshman, who scored 15 points in the second half, went 7-of-8 at the line.
Senior and 2014 Northeast-10 Player of the Year Greg Lagnston closed his career at So. Connecticut with 19 points. The senior finished with 1,890 career points, passing Jerrit Lewis '98 for second most in program history. He went 10-for-10 from the line on the afternoon.
Junior Tylon Smith finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Deshawn Murphy came off the bench like a ball of fire shortly thereafter. The sophomore had 13 of the Owls' first 23 points. The program-record holder for three-pointers in a season (78) had 16 points, all of them coming in the opening half.
The East Regional Champions started slow, trailing 9-2 less than three minutes in. Toward the end of the first half, the Mules went on a 15-0 run to turn a 34-28 Owl lead into a 41-34 Central Missouri advantage.
After the halfitme break, the Owls were down six, 45-39.
The Owls' cut their deficit to three, 74-71, with 7:46 remaining. From there, the Northeast-10 Champions hit a cold stretch. So. Connecticut went over four minutes without a basket as the Mules went on a 12-7 run to sew it up.
