New Haven, Conn. (February 1) -- On Saturday afternoon, the Assumption College men's basketball team dropped a 91-71 final at No. 19 ranked Southern Connecticut in Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional action. The game marks the final cross-divisional game of the season for the Hounds.

Over the opening minutes, the Owls held a brief 4-3 lead before the Hounds took the one-point edge seconds later on a layup from freshman guard Marcus Murray (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy). The Hounds pushed that lead to six at 14-8 on a hook from sophomore Chris Fitzgerald (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) at the 13:20 mark and continued to lead by six at 16-10 after  a runner from sophomore Julian Aiken (Randolph, N.J./Randolph).

The closely contested first half continued with SCSU baskets by Tylon Smith and Deshawn Murphy cutting the lead to one and eventually tying the contest at 22-22 with 7:25 remaining in the first half. A quick 5-0 Assumption scoring run opened up the 27-22 advantage, but the hosts had the answer as they jumped in front at 35-33 after a fastbreak layup by Smith. This marked SCSU's first lead since the opening two minutes of the game. A Smith three with 37.6 left in the half put the Owls back up 40-37, but was followed by an SCSU turnover with 4.6 seconds on the clock. On the ensuing inbounds play, Murray took the inbounds pass and found Fitzgerald in front of the Owls bench as his triple rattled in at the buzzer for the 40-40 halftime tie.

Each team shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the first period while combining for nine three-pointers and a 15-for-17 showing at the free throw line. Murray paced Assumption with 11 points in the period, while Smith posted 16 and Murphy 11 to lead Southern Connecticut.

 Assumption opened the second half with a quick five points to lead 45-42 after a layup from junior captain Jimmy Zenevitch (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) at the 16:31 mark. The Hounds were then held to just two points and no field goals over the next 7:31 though as a 21-2 run, keyed by eight points from Smith, put the game out of reach at 63-47. Southern Connecticut led by as many as 24 at 88-64 with 2:41 left before pulling out the 91-71 final to remain atop the Southwest Division of the Northeast-10 Conference standings.

Murray again led the Hounds with a 20-point effort, including a 12-for-14 performance at the free throw line. Freshman Reilly Reid (Mississauga, Ontario/Lorne Park Secondary School) added 14 points in 30 minutes, along with 11 off the bench from Fitzgerald. Aiken narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds as well.

Smith led four Owls in double figures with a game-high 26 points, followed by Murphy at 23 and 20 off the bench from Michael Mallory. Langston was the other Owl in double figures at 13 points. For the game, the Owls held a slight 40-37 edge on the glass and forced 11 Assumption turnovers. Southern Connecticut also held the Hounds to just 23.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half.

With the loss, Assumption falls to 5-14 overall and 3-11 in the Northeast-10, while Southern Connecticut improves to 18-2 overall and 12-2 in league play.

Assumption is back in action on Wednesday, February 5th as the Hounds host Bentley University for a 7:30 p.m. start at Laska Gym.

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