Late run by Owls keys yet another conference victory

Pat Longobardi
A 28-6 run in the second half and a 29-point effort from freshman Greg Langston lifted the Southern men’s basketball team to a come-from-behind win over Franklin Pierce, 84-75, in a Northeast-10 Conference game on Saturday, Jan. 15.
This was the first and only meeting between the two teams in the regular season.
The game was close in the early minutes with each team trading shots.
With just over eight minutes left in the half, Chazz McCarter took a three to give Southern a lead, 27-18.
Franklin Pierce hung around during the half with patient offense and solid defense, capitalizing on Southern’s fouls and missed shots.
With just over six minutes left, Franklin Pierce went on a 7-0 run, 25-10 run overall, to cut the lead to 27-25.
Kinard Dozier tied the game at 32 with a lay-up with over four minutes left.
After a Southern foul sent Franklin Pierce to the free throw line, Dozier hit two shots giving Franklin Pierce their first lead of the game, 34-32.
Franklin Pierce led at halftime, 44-37.
“We desperately needed this after losing four in a row,” said Southern head coach Michael Donnelly. “We tried to tell them to keep confidence and keep going. It is one thing to say it and then do it.”
In the second half, Franklin Pierce quickly extended the lead to 10 when Eric Jean-Guillaume hit a three-pointer to make it 47-37. Nigel Van Oostrum later made a two pointer extending the lead to a game-high 11 points, 55-44, with 13 minutes to play.
Southern did not go away behind the strong play of McCarter, Trevon Hamlet, and the bench, especially Langston.
Southern went on a 14-3 run that cut the lead to two at 58-56. Lenzie Harrison tied the game at 58 with 10 minutes to play. Southern then took a 61-58 lead they would not relinquish when Langston buried a three-pointer with nine and a half minutes to play. Langston scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half.
Hamlet said this was a big game to end Southern’s losing streak, but Southern still got the win. “We were at the top of the division in defense, and tonight we brought that back,” said Hamlet.
“Today we played together,” said Langston. “We went back to our old ways of rebounding, blocking, assists and the bench played well.”
Southern brought their lead to 11, 72-61, which was Southern’s biggest lead of the game.
Forward Ellis Cooper left the game in the second half after he was involved in a multi-player pile up for a loose ball. Cooper was taken away by ambulance.
Donnelly said this was a game of spurts between both teams. “We (Southern) worked on ball screens, ball movement, stretching the defense, we had screens and we were not just standing around.”
Dozier led Franklin Pierce with 24 points, and 10 rebounds. Jean-Guillaume had 13 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Andre Blackwood had 11 points.
Langston was Southern’s leading scorer. McCarter had 19 points and seven rebounds. Hamlet had 11 points, five assists and four blocks. Chris Harris had 11 points and six rebounds.
Franklin Pierce got within four with just over two minutes to play, 77-73. Southern sealed the win when Langston made three free throws on a foul by Van Oostrum on the three-point line to make the lead 80-73.
The Owls are now 9-6 overall, 6-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Franklin Pierce was 5-11, and 3-8. Up next for the Owls is the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.