New Haven, Conn. – Michael Mallory scored 27 points to lead Southern Connecticut State University to an 83-70 win over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action at Moore Field House.

Junior forward Stan Buczek (Port Jervis, N.Y./Burke Catholic) led the Dolphins offensively for the second straight game with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while adding seven rebounds and a career-best six assists. Sophomore guard Tanner Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland/Bridgton Academy) netted 17 points and five three-pointers for the second straight Saturday, while sophomore forward Daniel Kaigler (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden/Gannon) tied his career-high with 16 points.

Mallory, who scored 28 points in the teams' meeting in early January, registered 14 of his points in the opening half, while adding five assists and three rebounds. Desmond Williams also reached the 20-point plateau, his fifth straight game doing so, with 20 points, while posting 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists. Austin Carter also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Stefon Williams tallied 10 points.

After the teams traded baskets to start the game, the Dolphins tallied 12 of the next 16 points to take their largest lead of the game. Senior guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) tallied the first five points, while freshman guard Eriq Jenkins (Windsor, Ontario/Catholic Central) added a three-pointer.

The Owls responded with a 9-2 run to trim their deficit to one with 12:50 left. Williams tallied seven of the points around a dunk by Carter.

After Kaigler made a pair of baskets around a Mallory jumper, the Owls recorded another 9-2 run to take the lead. Mallory accounted for seven of the points, while Williams converted a jumper in the middle of the spurt.

Hyland and Buczek connected on three-pointers to give the Dolphins a 28-26 lead with 5:26 left, but that would be their last lead of the game as the Owls scored the next seven points and 10 of the next 12.

Kaigler and Lovell combined to go 4-for-4 from the foul line over the final 40 seconds of the half to get the Dolphins within 36-34 at halftime.

After the Owls scored the first four points of the second half, the teams split the following 18 points, which resulted in Southern Connecticut State holding a 49-43 lead with 13:34 left. Kaigler and Jack McCarthy led their respective teams with four points each in the span, while Hyland and Mallory each hit three-pointers.

Southern Connecticut State followed with 10 of the next 13 points to take control of the game. Mallory had five of the first six points, while Desmond Williams had a dunk and Stefon Williams capped the stretch with a lay-up.

The Dolphins answered back with a 10-2 run to get within five, 61-56, with 8:23 left. Hyland had a pair of three-pointers in the streak, while Kaigler and sophomore guard Russell Sangster (Rockville, Md./Bullis School) made lay-ups.

After the teams traded points over the next two and one-half minutes, the Owls put the game away with a 9-2 run. Carter had five of the points, while Mallory and Stefon Williams each had two points.

The teams split the final 12 points of the game over the last 3:37. Each team had three players score two points in the span.
 
Le Moyne (9-16, 6-13 NE-10) closes out the regular season on Tuesday at the University of New Haven at 7:30 p.m. The Dolphins can earn a berth into the Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a victory over the Chargers and a loss by either American International College (at Adelphi) or Pace University (against Southern Connecticut State). To claim the fourth seed, the Dolphins need to win and have AIC and Pace both lose, while they would capture the fifth seed with a win, an AIC win and a Pace loss OR a win, a Pace win and an AIC loss.