Smith Scores 19 Points To Lead Four Players In Double Figures, Freshman Trio Combine For 34 Points As Men's Basketball Drops 76-73 Northeast-10 Decision At Southern Connecticut

January 23, 2007

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Moore Fieldhouse, New Haven, Conn.

FINAL: SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 76, STONEHILL 73

NEW HAVEN, Conn.-- Senior Danny Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) notched a double-double effort of 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures as Southern Connecticut used a 67 percent shooting effort in the final 20 minutes of play to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and post a 76-73 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over Stonehill Tuesday evening at Moore Fieldhouse.

After trailing 45-37 at the break, the host Owls (5-14, 3-12 Northeast-10) saw the visiting Skyhawks (13-7, 8-7 Northeast-10) open up a pair of 10-point leads early after intermission, the last coming at 55-45 with 15:32 to play on a conventional three-point play by freshman Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia). Southern Connecticut then scored 10 of the game's next 11 points over a 3:23 span to close its deficit to one, and Stonehill built back a four-point cushion before the hosts used a 6-1 spurt to take the lead for good at 65-64 with 5:22 remaining on a lay-in by sophomore Derrick Corbett (New Haven, Conn.). The Skyhawks sliced their deficit to one on a pair of occasions in the final two minutes of play and had a chance to force overtime in the closing seconds, but a three-pointer rimmed out to give the Owls their triumph.

Corbett finished with 13 points in the win for Southern Connecticut, which also received 12 points from senior Kevin Diffley (Queens, N.Y.) and 11 points and five boards from freshman Trevor Harris (Nanuet, N.Y.). Senior Deshawn Summers (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added nine points and seven assists for the Owls, who shot 63 percent overall from the floor and held a 27-23 rebounding edge to end a four-game Stonehill win streak in the series between the two schools.

Sophomore Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) finished with a game-high 19 points in the setback for the Skyhawks, who also received 15 points from freshman Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) and 11 points from Stevanovic. Freshman AJ Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) was also in double figures with 10 points for Stonehill, which also received a combined 16 points from seniors Lance Clarke (Cambridge, Mass.) and Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.). The visitors shot 48 percent overall and connected for nine three-pointers while holding a 20-8 scoring edge at the foul line for the contest.

Stonehill hosts Pace in a Northeast-10 outing on Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 3:30 p.m., while Southern Connecticut heads to Manchester, N.H. on Saturday afternoon to square off with Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 match-up that also begins at 3:30 p.m.