Aaron Johnson – Sports Editor
Despite a late start due to the East Stroudsburg team bus having a flat tire, the Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team pulled away from the Warriors in the second half behind a career-high 35 points from sophomore guard Michael Mallory by the score of 107-88.
Mallory shot lights out from behind the arc, finishing 8 of 11 for the game, he said that he credits the big night to his teammates and coaches.
“The last couple of games you can ask everyone I’ve been down because I was feeling like I wasn’t helping out as much as I could,” said Mallory. “They just kept telling me to stick with it so today I just found a good rhythm.”
Senior guard Tylon Smith continued his strong play as the Owls close out the regular season, finishing with 22 points and 12 assists. But Mallory’s scoring outburst stole the show, head coach Mike Donnelly said that he had a feeling Mallory was on the verge of a breakout performance.
“He was due for a game like this,” he said. “When he gets in that role and he was playing at such a nice pace. Mike was doing a great job getting open and available when he caught the ball.”
Senior guard Luke Houston finished with 19 points, six assists, and seven rebounds and junior forward Desmond Williams also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Owls improved to 18-5 on the season with the win.
Full article will be published in next week’s issue of the Southern News and on thesouthernnews.org.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3s2fMMkeek&w=560&h=315]
