November 18, 2009
MBB: LE MOYNE CRUISES TO 88-64 WIN OVER SO. CONNECTICUT ST. IN
NE-10 OPENER
Syracuse, N.Y. - Sophomore guard Chris Johnson
(Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) scored a
game-high 22 points to lead four players in double-figures as
the Le Moyne College men's basketball team cruised to an 88-64 win
over Southern Connecticut State in the Northeast-10 Conference
opener for both teams on Wednesday night at Ted Grant Court.
Johnson, who scored 18 points off the bench in Sunday's 63-48 win
at Caldwell, connected on 8-of-13 shots, including 6-of-11
three-point shots, in 25 minutes off the bench. Graduate student
guard Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick
Douglass) added 15 points and six rebounds, while junior
forward Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis
HS) scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Reigning Northeast-10 Player of the Year Laurence Ekperigin
(Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) scored 10 points and
grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while posting two steals and two
assists. The backcourt combination of Andrew Zito and Tobin
Carberry hit four three-pointers each to finish with 18 and 15
points, respectively. Reserve guard Chris Harris dished out a
game-high 11 assists and added nine points.
After a scoreless span of three minutes and 13 seconds to open the
contest, Ekperigin converted back-to-back shots in the paint and
sophomore guard James Cormier (Trumbull,
Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy (N.H.)) buried a
three-pointer as the Dolphins jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After the
Owls got on the board at the 15:06 mark, Johnson nailed consecutive
three-pointers to push the Le Moyne lead out to 13-4.
With a 22-14 lead following a Carberry three-pointer at the 10:17
mark, the Dolphins rattled off 11 consecutive points and 16 of the
contest's next 19 points to take a commanding 38-17 advantage with
4:18 remaining in the half. Included in the run were six points
from Corbin and three points apiece from Roth and Johnson, while
senior guard Durett Miles (Schenectady,
N.Y./Schenectady) made a lay-up and dished out a pair of
assists.
The Owls closed their deficit to 43-25 going into the intermission
by outscoring the Dolphins 8-5 over the final 3:39 of the half.
Zito and Carberry each accounted for three points in the
stretch.
The Dolphins raced out to a 26-point lead at the 15:09 mark of the
second half by scoring 14 of the half's first 20 points. Corbin
started the streak with a fast-break dunk off a steal by Cormier.
Cormier later added a pair of three-pointers in the stretch, while
Ekperigin recorded a dunk and a lay-up.
Southern Connecticut cut the Le Moyne lead down to 15 (59-44) with
a 13-2 outburst over a span of 3:22. Zito hit a pair of
three-pointers and a lay-up and Carberry knocked down a
three-pointer before Clyde Chapman capped the streak with a
fast-break dunk off a Harris steal.
After trading points over the next three minutes, the Dolphins
increased their lead to a game-best 27 points with a 19-7 jaunt.
Roth, Corbin and freshman Michael Goodman (Syracuse,
N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) each scored four points
in the run with senior center Eduardo Archibold Brown
(Panama City, Panama/Mercersburg Academy/West Georgia)
posting a conventional three-point play to cap it. After the Owls
scored five straight points, Goodman scored in the paint with 29
seconds remaining for the game's final points.
Le Moyne (2-0, NE-10 1-0), which has won 10 consecutive
regular-season games dating back to last season, returns to the
court on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Queens (N.Y.) at 3:30 p.m.
-agate-
Le Moyne 88,
Southern Connecticut State 64
Southern Connecticut State (0-2, NE-10
0-1)
25
39
-
64
Le Moyne (2-0, NE-10
1-0)
43
45
- 88
