Syracuse, N.Y. – Luke Houston scored 23 points to lead Southern Connecticut State University to an 82-62 win over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Ted Grant Court.

Junior guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) led three Dolphins in double figures with 18 points, including 10 in the first half, while dishing out three assists. Freshman guard Tanner Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland/Bridgton Academy) scored in double digits for the first time in his career with 12 points on four three-pointers, while adding three rebounds. Sophomore forward Stan Buczek (Port Jervis, N.Y./Burke Catholic) scored in twin figures for the third straight game with 10 points, while grabbing eight rebounds.

Houston, who has scored 86 points in his last four games against the Dolphins (all Southern Connecticut wins), connected on four three-pointers in the first half en route to 15 points, while finishing the game with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Deshawn Murphy tallied 11 of his 18 points in the opening half to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. Desmond Williams was the third Southern Connecticut starter in double digits with 10 points, while adding a team-best eight rebounds and two steals. Michael Mallory, last year's Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year, came off the bench to record 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. In five career games against the Dolphins, four of which he came off the bench, Mallory has 97 points and 31 rebounds.

The Owls opened the game with the first 13 points, including seven before the Dolphins crossed midcourt for the first time. Just 14 seconds into the contest, Houston buried a three-pointer from the left wing and drew a foul. After stealing the ball two seconds later in the backcourt, Desmond Williams drained a three-pointer from the left corner. Two possessions later, Murphy gave the Owls a double-digit lead with a three-pointer from the left wing and Houston followed eight seconds later with a trifecta from the right wing for a 13-0 lead just 2:08 into the game.

After Lovell made a fast-break lay-up with 13:05 left to get the Dolphins within 20-8, the Owls scored 11 of the next 14 points to open up their first 20-point lead with 9:31 left in the half. Murphy and Stefon Williams each had four points in the stretch, while Tylon Smith accounted for the rest on a conventional three-point play.

Following alternating three-pointers by Hyland and a pair of Owls, the Dolphins tallied 12 of the next 16 points to trim their deficit back to 12 with 3:22 to go. Hyland started the streak with his third straight three-pointer, Lovell added five points and Buczek and freshman guard Russell Sangster (Rockville, Md./Bullis School) each had two points.

Southern Connecticut scored seven straight points to extend its lead to 19 before junior forward Connor Mahoney (Hanover, Mass./BC High/Brooks School) nailed a three-pointer from the left wing to get the Dolphins within 50-34 at halftime.

After senior forward Ryan Romich (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable/Vermont Academy) opened the second half's scoring with a put-back lay-up, the Owls recorded a 15-4 run over the next 4:24 to take a 25-point lead. Houston had six of the points, Desmond Williams scored five and Murphy and Austin Carter each added two points.

Le Moyne cut its deficit to 20 on a pair of occasions over the next five minutes, but Murphy and Mallory hit back-to-back three-pointers from the right side to give the Owls their largest lead of the game with 8:09 left.

The teams split the next 14 points before the Dolphins scored the last six points of the contest to deliver the final score.

Le Moyne (14-9, 8-8 NE-10), which has dropped five straight games to the Owls and eight of the nine meetings featuring Romich, Smith and Houston, returns to the hardwood on Tuesday at the University of New Haven at 7:30 p.m. With four conference games remaining, the Dolphins hold a one-game lead over the Chargers for the third seed (and final first round bye) in the Southwest Division.