Second-Half Rally Pushes Men's Basketball Over Southern Conn. State, 96-80


Twitty scored a career-high 34 points for his second 30-plus point scoring game of the season. (PHOTO BY SportsPix)

Twitty nets career-high 34 points and Moreton posts third double-double to lead Skyhawks

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 13, 2018) – Stonehill College used a 28-point second half swing to erase a 12-point halftime deficit and record a 96-80 triumph over Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Moore Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Sophomore guard Brandon Twitty (Randolph, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the second half to lead the Stonehill rally. He made 13-of-17 shots from the field, including 7-of-8 after halftime, while burying 5-of-6 three-pointers overall, to go with a career-best five steals. Classmate Will Moreton (Minneapolis, Minnesota/Edina) posted his second double-double of the season (third career) with 22 points and a season-high matching 11 rebounds, while adding three assists as he made 7-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-for-9 from deep.

Sophomore Dan Largey (Oceanport, New Jersey/Peddie School) contributed 18 points, connecting on 4-of-6 threes and converting all six free-throws, with six rebounds and four assists. Senior KJ Lee (Huntington Station, New York/Long Island Lutheran) rounded out the Skyhawks double-figure scorers with ten points, six boards and five assists.

Senior Jerry Luckett, Jr. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Brown Deer) scored 21 of his team-high 31 points in the first half to lead Southern Connecticut State to its 12-point (52-40) halftime lead. He finished shooting 12-of-21 from the floor, converting 7-of-8 free-throws, while adding nine rebounds and two assists. Junior Isaiah McLeod (Cambridge, Massachusetts/Cambridge Rindge & Latin) added 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point distance, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, while freshman Ulyen Coleman (Brockton, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) registered 14 points, eight boards and two assists.


Moreton posted his third career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. (PHOTO BY SportsPix)

Stonehill limited Southern Connecticut State to just 28 points after halftime on 33.3-percent shooting from the field (10-for-30), while connecting on 69.6% (16-for-23) shots in the second half, including 7-for-12 (58.3%) from deep, in outscoring the Owls 56-28 over the final 20-minutes. The Skyhawks buried 15-of-29 (51.7%) three-pointers in the contest overall.

Southern Connecticut State outscored Stonehill 19-5 over the final five minutes of the first half after Twitty gave the Skyhawks their only lead of the opening frame (35-33) with a three-pointer. McLeod answered the Twitty triple with one of his own to spark the Owls closing push to produce the 12-point (52-40) halftime lead.

Stonehill came out firing in the second half with a 15-2 run to grab the lead again (55-54) after a Lee free-throw less than four minutes in. Twitty scored ten-straight points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers. Southern answered and reclaimed a four-point lead (60-56) after a Coleman triple with 14:42 to play, but Stonehill's slow in momentum was short-lived as a 13-3 run turned a one-point lead (65-64) with 11:16 to go, into an 11-point advantage (78-67) following two free-throws from senior Joel Berroa (Lawrence, Massachusetts/Bridgton Academy) with 7:43 to play. Largey, Moreton and Twitty all connected from beyond the arc to fuel the run.

Stonehill's run extended to 21-5 to clinch the win with a 17-point cushion (86-69) after a pair of Twitty free-throws with three-minutes to play. The Skyhawks lead peaked at 18 (91-73) after a Moreton three-pointer with 1:44 remaining as the visitors ended a two-game NE10 dip with their seventh win over their last nine overall.

Stonehill (9-7, 5-5 NE10) returns to action on Wednesday, when it hosts regionally-ranked Le Moyne College for an NE10 matchup at Merkert Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at stonehillskyhawks.com. Southern Connecticut State (7-8, 4-6 NE10) visits Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

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