MANCHESTER, N.H. – Tylon Smith led four players in double figures with 20 points as No. 20 Southern Connecticut State University held off Southern New Hampshire University for a 75-70 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Owls upped their record to 11-3 and 6-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen now stand 7-5 and 6-3 in league play.

Smith finished 8-14 from the floor. Michael Mallory was 3-6 behind the three-point arc and finished with 17 points and five assists, while Luke Houston was 3-4 from long range and totaled 13 points.  Stefon Williams added 11 points.

Senior Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) became the 44^th player in Penmen program history to reach the 1,000 point mark for his career with a 13-point effort Wednesday night.  Bonsignore needed eight points entering the night, and sank a pair of free throws with 5:22 left in the first half to reach the milestone.  B.J. Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) also totaled 13 points on 6-8 shooting, while Rodney Sanders (Linden, N.J.) added 12.

Southern Connecticut controlled much of the game, leading 45-31 at halftime and 67-45 with 10:19 remaining.  Following a Mallory basket at the 7:33 mark that made it 72-53, the Owls went cold, not making a field goal the rest of the way.  Still, SNHU was unable to capitalize, and found itself down 72-59 with 2:36 left following a pair of Jeff Demezier (Delray Beach, Fla.) free throws.

The Penmen made it interesting in the final minute.  After Scott Toresco (Westfield, N.J.) and Demezier each went 2-2 at the line to make it 72-63, a Max Taylor (Shokan, N.Y.) three made it a two-possession game with 47 seconds to go, forcing Southern Connecticut to put its starters back in.  After Jack McCarthy missed the front end of a one-and-one, Toresco would get fouled with 20 seconds left and made 1-of-2 at the line to make it 72-67.

Houston sank a pair at the line with 18 seconds left to make it 74-67, but Demezier banked home a three to cut the lead to four with 12 seconds to go.  Smith made 1-of-2 at the line, with SNHU grabbing the rebound, but a Taylor three with three seconds left was off the mark and SCSU escaped.

The two teams traded the lead four times in the early going before Southern Connecticut took control with a 7-0 spurt capped by a Smith basket midway through the frame to make it 24-14.  SNHU cut it to seven on several occasions, but the Owls led by as many as 15 down the stretch and led 45-31 at intermission.

Southern Connecticut knocked down 10 of its 23 three-point attempts on the evening and shot 58.1% in the first half and 46.7% for the game while the Penmen, who shot 46.6%, were just 3-13 from long range.  The Penmen went 13-18 at the free throw line while the Owls were 9-12, and SCSU eked out a 35-34 rebound advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Saturday afternoon when it travels to American International College for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.  The next Penmen home game is Saturday, January 17 when SNHU hosts Concordia (N.Y.) College for a 3:30 non-league tilt.

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