New Haven, Conn. – Senior guard Nino Hernandez (Gardner, Mass./The Winchendon School/Bryant) scored 20 points on over 50% shooting from the field at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday to lead the Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball team to a hard-fought 56-55 win over the Owls. It was a defensive battle all night long, and Le Moyne came out on top while holding SCSU to their lowest regular-season point total since December of 2011.

"Defensively, we were really good. Offensively, I think we struggled. But I thought the biggest struggle again was taking care of the basketball and that's just something we have to continue to work on. It's something we work on every single day, and if we can get that under control, I think we're going to be a really tough team," said Le Moyne Head Coach Nate Champion '14 after the game.

Hernandez was aggressive from the jump, attacking the basket incessantly and scoring six of Le Moyne's first 10 points. The senior guard scored all nine of his second half points during the final 12 minutes of the contest.

"My biggest thing right now is defense, sticking with my guy, and the rest is just trusting what I do. I put in the work," said Hernandez following his season-high scoring performance. "…we love to press and trap and all that extra gritty stuff, that's what we're about, that's our culture, so that just showed today and we just stick to what we've been working on for the last couple months," added Hernandez.

The senior also praised the team's deep bench, which allowed them to continue to pressure the opponent for all 40 minutes, "We don't have substitutions, we have reinforcements. Everyone can play, we all love the game and it shows when we get out there, pressing, (forcing turnovers), and that's what we live off of," said Hernandez.

The Dolphins' interior defense had a lot to do with holding the Owls to their lowest point total in almost a decade, and Coach Champion was quick to acknowledge his forward group.

"I think having guys like Isaiah (Elmore) - Xavier (Wilson) had huge blocks down the stretch - those types of players inside with a presence to alter shots and to contest shots, just to make the offense think about it a little bit, gives us a little extra element on the defensive end," said Champion.

Point guard Jeremiah Washington (Chicago, ILL./Bogan/Ferris State) stole the ball in the Owls' backcourt with three minutes remaining and delivered an assist to Christian Davis (Denver, Colo./Mullen/New Hampton School) to extend Le Moyne's lead to 54-50. However, arguably no defensive plays were more important than Xavier Wilson's (Spring Valley, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac/The Hotchkiss School/Central Connecticut State) two blocks in the final minute of the game, referenced by Coach Champion in his post-game interview. With the Dolphins holding on to a single-digit lead and the clock winding down, the Owls were attacking the basket with a sense of urgency. Wilson held his ground in the paint, contested the shots straight in the air and came away with two hugely important rejections to help Le Moyne close out the game.

SCSU's Ulyen Coleman missed a long heave in the final moments of the game, and Le Moyne earned a one-point NE10 road victory to improve to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference competition.  

The Dolphins have a quick turnaround, as they return home to take on Daemen College on Monday, December 6 at Ted Grant Court.