Bobby Martinez – Sports Writer
NEW HAVEN — Assumption College at one point, had number 19 ranked Southern Connecticut’s men’s basketball on the ropes hoping to sneak out an upset win but Tylon Smith and his team had other plans.
The Owls started the game playing like a complete different team and not in a good way. Assumption got off to a quick 12-6 lead and had the whole gym in shock. Just like any other game the Owls had played this season, they managed to regroup as a team and shake off the deficit.
Freshman forward Austin Carter and guard Michael Mallory helped spark the Owls with two consecutive layups trimming the deficit to four with 12:46 left in the first half. Despite the Owls early struggles, the Owls defense got stronger each minute forcing Assumption to forced jump shots and turnovers.
Assumption didn’t back down during any point in the first half. Assumption’s freshman forward Chris Fitzgerald, popped a pull-up three pointer extending his teams lead 20-15. Owls sophomore Deshawn Murphy, who finished the game a rebound shy of a double-double scoring 23 points and nine rebounds, responded with a three pointer cutting the deficit to only two.
Mallory said his team struggles in the first half was based off his team’s preparation prior to their matchup with Assumption.
“We started off slow because we didn’t have two good practices,” said Mallory, “But we had to pick it up in the second half because coach [fired] us up and that’s what we needed heading into the second half.”
Owls head coach Michael Donnelly, said he didn’t have to make major adjustments in the second half because he knew his teams mindset was the major issue.
“There was no strategy for the second half really,” he said, “it was mainly where we was at mentally. I just told them there was too much resistance on the floor and resistance especially the way we play is not a good thing because it makes us slower. When we are slower we struggle so we just wanted to make sure from a mental standpoint we were ready starting at the defensive end.”
Opening up the second half, the Owls begun to play like the number 19th ranked team in the nation and it started off with rebounding. Sophomore forward Stefon Williams helped give the Owls their first lead of the second half with a rebound and assist to Mallory for a three-pointer, 52-51.
Mallory scored only five points in the first half, but scored big shots for his team in the second and finished with 20 points. Donnelly said Mallory’s has been improving each game this season and has helped his team out a lot.
“He is getting better and better,” said Donnelly. “One thing about Michael is he can make shots. He is really good in space but with Michael just like everyone else, he is better once he starts moving. He can then get a ball reversal or a pass in transition because if he just trying to catch the ball and make a move, the defense is squaring him up and he at that point is nearly effective.”
Junior captain Tylon Smith has been on a complete tear the last five games scoring an average of 25 points a game alongside five rebounds and five assists. Assumption didn’t have an answer for Smith letting him get to the basket freely and hit his open jump shots. Smith finished the game with 26 points shooting 10-16 and grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
The Owls went on to win the game 91-71, due to their fast paced offense and tight defense giving them their 18th win of the season. The Owls hit the road for their next matchup against city rival University of New Haven Feb. 5, 2014.
As the Owls sit atop the Northeast-10 conference, Mallory said his team needs to keep playing hard each game if they plan on winning a championship.
“We really need to keep being competitive in practice,” said Mallory. “Day in and day out we got to keep being competitive with each other so we can get each other better so when we hop on the court we can play and just have fun which will make it easy.”
