NEW HAVEN — They have become the cardiac kids. The Southern Connecticut men’s basketball team has used big comebacks in the past three games, winning two of them, to climb into fourth place in the Northeast-10 Conference standings.
“The comebacks seem to be the trend,” SCSU coach Mike Donnelly said. “We’re in a good stretch and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot.”
Southern’s recent rallies have been unlikely to say the least. On Tuesday the Owls scored just 13 points in the first half at Southern New Hampshire. But, for the second straight game it overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to pull out a 62-56 victory.

“I really wasn’t that upset with them at halftime,” Donnelly said. “I knew we only had 13 points but we were getting good shots, they just weren’t falling. I just wanted to help out with our spacing and I figured we’d make some shots in the second half.”
SCSU, which leads the NE-10 in scoring averaging 75 points, finished the second half with 49 points. The Owls (12-6, 9-5 NE-10) had three-players in double-digits led by Greg Langston with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Trevon Hamlet also had 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and Rashamell Vereen added 11 points.
Southern knocked off Stonehill 77-74 on Saturday in a game it trailed by seven with less than four minutes to go. The game prior, SCSU rallied from 16 points down in the second half but dropped an 83-80 decision against NE-10 leading Saint Anselm.
Hamlet, an athletic 6-6 swingman, has been the catalyst for the Owls. He can rebound, defend and is among the top Division II scorers averaging 18.2 points.
“He’s the heart and soul of the team,” Donnelly said. “He’s a great kid. He’s been an anchor defensively. He just leads us in every way.”
Then there’s steady junior Greg Langston, of Stratford, who notched his second double-double of the season the past game.
“He’s unique because he’s a 6-3 guy who’s comfortable with his back to the basket,” Donnelly said.
Luke Houston came to SCSU as a prolific scorer but Donnelly has had to encourage him to shoot more at Southern.
“Sometimes he passes up some open shots but he’s taking it upon himself to become our best perimeter defender,” Donnelly said. Sophomore guard Tylon Smith fills the entire stat sheet and Vereen, a slick guard from Meriden who played for Donnelly three years ago at Post, is averaging 8.2 points and Donnelly said he’s the fastest player in the NE-10.
Donnelly hopes the second half of the schedule will be more favorable to his team. They are 7-2 on the road and 4-4 at home but he expects that mark to improve.
“Hopefully it’s a good thing that we have five games at home in the second half and after (Saturday’s game against) Bentley we have seven games against teams that we’ve already played. It’s going to be a dogfight,” he said.
Interestingly, SCSU is tied in the standings with border rival New Haven, another club in the midst of a renaissance.
“I always say it’s great for everyone involved that New Haven’s has turned their program around too,” said Donnelly, who took over a 2-25 team when he arrived at the school.
“I can’t say enough how great a job Ted (Hotaling) has done at New Haven and if we could both play meaningful games at the end of the season it’s great for the entire area of basketball.”
Southern hosts Bentley on Saturday at the Moore Fieldhouse at 3:30 p.m.

The Southern women's basketball team won its 12th straight game on Saturday.
Click here for my story on their star guard: Sylvonya Moore.

@BillCloutier

NEW HAVEN — University of New Haven guard Jeffery Adkins Jr. is playing this season with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Being a top member of a team picked 16th in a 16-team conference can do that to you.

Adkins and the Chargers continued to play the Rodney Dangerfield role on Saturday beating rival Southern Connecticut State 61-53 in front of 812 fans at the Moore Fieldhouse.

Eric Anderson led New Haven (7-2 overall, 5-2 Northeast-10) with 14 points and Justin Exum had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremy Williams had 10 points and Sean Harris had nine points and nine rebounds in a balanced Charger effort. Southern was led by Tylon Smith who was 6 for 7 from the floor finishing with 13 points.

“We feel like we can play with anybody in this conference and they don’t give us any respect,” Adkins said. “We wanted to come out and play good defense like we’ve been playing.”

New Haven coach Ted Hotaling isn’t relying on his team’s lack of respect for motivation. He’d prefer to bank on solid defense and rebounding, like the kind they got on Saturday. Facing Southern (5-4, 4-3) and its big three of Greg and Dominique Langston and Trevon Hamlet, the Chargers limited the Owls to 31 percent shooting from the field.

The Owl’s star trio, entering the game averaging a combined 48 points, shot 11 for 45 from the floor and finished with 30 points.

“Coach (Hotaling) told us they’ve got some big scorers but (Ade Barek) locked up Hamlet and we played the Langstons as good as we could.”

Said Hotaling: “We’re a very good defensive team right now. We did what we’ve been doing (defensively), holding teams under 40 percent shooting and under 30 percent from 3-point range and out-rebounding them.

“I wish we could have made a few more shots, but Barek shut down Hamlet who’s one of the best players in the league and he’s done that all year for us.” Continued...

Southern coach Mike Donnelly said his team didn’t play very well.

“I give all the credit to New Haven,” Donnelly said. “They did a great job. But for some reason we were a step slow and that’s my fault.

“This has to motivate us to go catch New Haven. The did a great job on our three guys and they made plays and we didn’t.”

After erasing a 20-13 deficit midway through the first half, the Chargers rarely trailed again. New Haven led 36-30 at the half and opened up a 10-point lead in the early stages of the second half. When Southern cut the margin to 48-46 the Chargers outworked Southern a crucial possession.

New Haven missed three straight shots on the trip but got every offensive board and kicked the ball out to Sean Harris for a wide-open 3-pointer to give the Chargers a 51-46 lead.

“We talk about that all the time and it really hasn’t happened, but it showed up at a good time,” Hotaling said.

But the game was still in doubt in the final minute when Quinnipiac transfer Dominique Langston (10 points on 3 for 15 shooting) finally connected on a long, fadeaway 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining. Following a Charger turnover, Dominique took the ball the length of the floor but missed an open layup and New Haven capitalized immediately, scoring the final six points to put the game away.

“Dominique’s been struggling shooting,” Donnelly said. “He’s been inconsistent. He can do a lot of things, and he has to understand with him it doesn’t all come down to shooting. He has to do everything else he’s capable of doing.”

The Chargers, which went 8-18 last season, have won four straight.

“Anytime you can beat your rival its’ big,” Hotaling said. “If I said it wasn’t I’d be lying. It’s great to beat them and it’s a league game, too.”

The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Sports Council will host its third annual Courtside Chat event on Wednesday at the Wicked Wolf Tavern in New Haven. Albertus Magnus men’s basketball coach Mitch Oliver and women’s basketball coach Steve Schuler will join coaches from Quinnipiac, Southern Connecticut State, New Haven and Yale.
Register sports editor Sean Barker will serve as the moderator for the panel discussion.
The event will go from noon-1 p.m. and is free for GNHCC members and $10 for non-members. The cost includes lunch and the opportunity to win prizes. Visit gnhcc.com or call 203-782-4342.

Southern Connecticut State University head men’s basketball coach Michael Donnelly has announced that eight student-athletes will join the squad for the upcoming 2011-12 season. Ryan Belote (Meriden, Conn./Maloney HS), Kyle Callanan (Bennington, Vt./Cushing Academy), Kevin Clark (Trumbull, Conn./Christian Heritage), Jose Cruz (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy), Luke Houston (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River HS) and Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford) will all enter as freshmen, while sophomore Dominique Langston (Bridgeport, Conn.) is a transfer from Division I Quinnipiac University. In addition, the Owls welcome Rashamell Vereen (Meriden, Conn.) who will sit out the 2011-12 season as a transfer from Post University.

“Our coaching staff is very excited about this year’s recruiting class,” Donnelly said. “We feel that we have added quality student-athletes who will not only achieve athletically, but also in the classroom as well. I want to thank both of my assistant coaches, Mike Makubika and Greg Clark, for their hard work and dedication to help bring in an outstanding recruiting class.”

Belote, a 5-foot-10 guard, was an All-State, All-Area and three-time All-Conference performer at Maloney (Conn.) High School. A three-year captain, he won a state championship with the Spartans as a freshman and helped the team to a league title and undefeated regular season as a senior. Belote was a three-time All-Conference pick, a two-time New Haven Register All-Area honoree and was also named Academic All-State.

Callanan, a 6-foot-2 guard, spent the 2010-11 season as a post-graduate at Cushing (Mass.) Academy after a decorated scholastic career at Mount Anthony Union High School (Vt.), where he finished his career as the school's all-time leader in both points and assists. He averaged 17 points and six assists per game at Cushing Academy while helping the Penguins to a 23-win season. He was also named Third-Team All-NEPSAC Class AA this past year.

Clark, a 6-foot-3 swingman, played scholastically at Christian Heritage School, where he was an Adidas All-American. Also a two-time All-Conference selection, he scored more than 1,000 points in his career and helped his squad win the 2011 National Christian Invitational Tournament. Clark also helped his team win its first two league titles in school history. A team captain, he was also a three-time winner of the team’s Sportsmanship Award.

Cruz, a 6-foot-7 forward, joins the Owls after spending the 2010-11 year at Worcester Academy, where he was awarded the Lawson Riley Award. While at Shrewsbury (Mass.) High School, he was a two-time league All-Star and helped his squad to the league title in 2010. Cruz was also a 2010 Worcester Telegram and Gazette All-Star.

Houston, a 5-foot-10 guard, collected an array of accolades in a decorated career at Pearl River (N.Y.) High School. As a senior, he averaged 20.3 points per contest en route to Rockland County Player of the Year honors. He was also named the Class A Most Valuable Player by MSG Varsity. Houston also collected All-State, All-County, All-Section and All-League honors while also serving as a team captain in his final season.

Langston, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward, played in 30 games as a freshman at Quinnipiac University last season. He averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest and helped the Bobcats reach the post-season for the second year in a row. He played scholastically at Kolbe Cathedral (Conn.) and was a two-time All-State pick there before attending St. Thomas More (Conn.) in 2009-10 en route to All-Conference honors. Langston was also recognized as a McDonald’s All-America nominee and was invited to play in the 2009 New England High School All-Star Challenge.

Smith, a 6-foot-2 powerful guard, was a five-year member of the varsity squad at Kingswood-Oxford and led his team to the 2011 New England Prep School Men's Basketball Association Class B Championship. A two-year team captain, he averaged more than 30 points per contest as a senior and more than 25 points per outing as a junior. Smith was named First-Team All-New England Class B and was the MVP of the Class B NEPSAC Tournament this past season.

Vereen, a 5-foot-11 guard, will sit out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Vereen will have one season of eligibility remaining in 2012-13. He averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds at Post in 2009-10 under Donnelly. As a scholastic standout at Maloney (Conn.) High, he led the Spartans to the Class L state championship game as a senior and was named MVP of the contest. He was also an All-State selection as a senior.

Southern Connecticut opens its 2011-12 season on Saturday, November 12 at the University of Bridgeport Tournament. The Owls are coming off a 2010-11 campaign in which they reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament for the first time in nine years and posted the third-best win turnaround in all of Division II (+10 victories).