Southern Connecticut shot 50.0 percent from the field in a high-scoring affair against Adelphi University men’s basketball earlier today to earn a 104-93 Northeast-10 Conference victory.
During the effort for the Panthers (4-19/1-16 NE-10), senior Duane Morgan became the 30th player in Brown and Gold history to record his 1,000 point behind a career-high 37 points.
Morgan shot 59.1 percent from the field that includeed three three-pointers along with an 8-of-10 showing from the free throw line on the way to the career-high. Entering today, Morgan needed 33 points to join the 1,000th point club. He also added nine rebounds while Ryan DeNicola put forth 15 rebounds to go with his seven points. Justin Jenkins added 18 points as Adelphi shot 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Owls (19-5/13-3 NE-10) hit the century mark thanks to three players recording above 20 points led by 25 and eight rebounds from Tylon Smith. Luke Houston added 23 points and eight rebounds while Michael Mallory contributed 21 points and four steals.
An 11-0 run midway through the first half afforded Southern Connecticut a 40-27 advantage after a Tylon Smith layup with 8:21 left until halftime. The Owls scored 26 more points in the final eight minutes to go into the break with a 66-50 lead as Smith dished out five assists in the period, including the final basket to find Mallory for a 3-pointer.
Smith again helped increase the lead for the host Owls to 20 points at 76-56 with 15:17 remaining. The Panthers were able to get as close as 10 points, however, Southern Connecticut controlled the lead behind a 66.7 field goal percentage in the half and hold off 25 points from Morgan. The senior converted nine field goals and five free throws in the half to effort the Brown and Gold.
Morgan becomes the first Panthers to reach the 1,000th point plateau since Richard Bryd (‘11), who ended up finishing his career with a program best 2,013 points.
