Moreton posted his 12th double-double of the year, sending him into his senior year with 19 for his career (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Ives nets 37 points to lead Owls into Sunday's NE10 Quarterfinals
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (March 1, 2019) – Southwest Division No. 4-seeded Southern Connecticut State University overcame a double-figure first half deficit to record an 80-75 victory over Northeast No. 5 Stonehill College in first round action of the 2019 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament tonight.
Southern Connecticut State (18-11, 12-8 NE10) advances to Sunday's NE10 Quarterfinals, where it will face Northeast Division top-seed and No. 13/18-ranked Saint Anselm College (22-4, 18-3 NE10) in Manchester, New Hampshire, at 3 p.m. Stonehill sees its season come to a close with a 14-15 record overall, including 8-13 in the NE10 to earn its 32nd NE10 Tournament appearance.
Senior Kealen Ives scored 20 of his game-high 37 points in the first half to lead Southern Connecticut to the win, finishing 13-for-20 from the floor, including 6-for-11 from three-point distance, with seven assists and three rebounds. Sophomore C.J. Seaforth scored all 16 of his points in the second half, while senior Isaiah McLeod tallied ten of his 12 points in the first half, adding two assists and two steals. Junior Taurus Adams II hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds off the bench, with eight points.
Junior Brandon Twitty led four from Stonehill in double-figures by scoring 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half, hitting all six of his shots from the field in the opening frame, including 5-for-5 from three-point distance, to go with two assists. Classmate Will Moreton posted his NE10-leading 12th double-double of the year (19th career), finishing with 13 points and a season-high matching 14 rebounds, with three assists, while sophomore Owen Chose netted 13 of his 16 points in the second half, while adding four assists. Senior Michael Boen chipped in ten points, four boards and two assists.
Twitty didn't miss in the first half, netting 17 of his team-high 21 points in the opening frame (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Southern Connecticut State overcame a 13-point first half deficit as Stonehill torched the nets with 57.1-percent shooting (16-for-28) over the opening half, including a white-hot 9-for-12 (75%) from three-point land. The Owls pulled back within three at the half to set up a second half that was nip and tuck throughout.
With the game knotted at 75-75 after Chose converted a three-point play with 67-seconds to play, senior Joey Wallace buried a three-pointer to push Southern Connecticut in front for good with 51-seconds remaining. The Skyhawks missed twice from three-point land, and added a turnover, the rest of the way, while Ives sealed the win with two free-throws.
Stonehill led by as much as 13 in the first half as the two teams combined for 83 points. The Skyhawks scored eight of the first ten points in the game, but Southern was able to draw level (11-11) after an Adams layup with 13:30 left in the half. Twitty sparked a run of three-straight three-pointers, including two himself, as Stonehill grabbed a nine-point lead (20-11) a minute later. Twitty hit a triple with 8:33 to go before halftime that extended the Skyhawks lead to ten (28-18), followed by a Chose three to produce the game-high 13 point lead (31-18) with 7:51 on the clock.
Southern responded with a 19-6 run to pull even (37-37) with a McLeod jumper with two minutes to go. Stonehill would reclaim the lead by halftime (43-40), keyed by four points from Moreton, to set up the close second half. Southern's largest lead of the game was a six-point cushion (73-67) after a three-point play from Ives with five minutes to go in the second half. Stonehill responded with an 8-2 run to pull even with a minute left after Chose's three-point play.
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