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.

On the women's side, graduate student Allyson Smith scored 18 points to lead three players in double-figures as Southern Connecticut State posted a 68-64 win over the Le Moyne College women’s basketball team, also in Northeast-10 Conference action on Wednesday night at Ted Grant Court.

Smith hit 7-of-9 shots, including all four of her three-point attempts, while also dishing out six assists. Jacqueline Johannes scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. LaTisha Hatcher was the third Owl in double-digits with 14 points. Sophomore forward Katie Hart (Constantia, N.Y./Central Square/Canisius) led the Dolphins in her Le Moyne debut with 18 points and seven rebounds. Classmate Morgan Rowland (Latham, N.Y./Shaker/Delaware State) scored 10 points off the bench in her first game with the Dolphins. Freshman Emily Bayly (Schenectady, N.Y./Niskayuna) posted a game-high 10 rebounds, while also scoring eight points.

Southern Connecticut opened the contest with the first five points en route to a 13-6 lead at the 12:06 mark. Smith scored five points and Johannes added four to lead the Owls in the spurt. After the Dolphins pulled within three on a lay-up by Hart and a pair of free throws by senior guard Muffy Sadler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/J. F. Kennedy/Binghamton), the Owls scored eight straight points and 15 of the game’s next 19 points to push out to a game-best 14 point lead with 4:45 remaining in the stanza. Smith scored five points and Ashley O’Dell made a pair of baskets.

Le Moyne answered back with a 10-4 run over the next 3:22 to cut its deficit in half going into the intermission. Bayly ignited the run with four straight points, while Sadler capped the streak with four foul shots after a lay-up by senior forward Brittany Davis (Detroit, Mich./Oak Park/Labette College (Kan.)).

Over the opening four minutes of the second half, the Owls regained a double-digit lead at 41-30 on a three-pointer by Smith. The Dolphins responded with eight consecutive points to get within three points with 12:19 to go on back-to-back lay-ups by Hart.

The two squads traded baskets over the ensuing 3:27 before Smith hit her final three-pointer to give the Owls a six point advantage. After the Owl lead bounced between four and seven points over the next five minutes of action, the Dolphins scored four straight points on a jumper by Rowland and a pair of foul shots by sophomore forward Brandy Wangelin (Olean, N.Y./Olean) to get within 62-60.

Johannes connected on a pair of free throws with 2:06 remaining to give her team a 64-60 lead, but Hart hit a jumper off a feed from Wangelin to pull the Dolphins back within two. A lay-up by Hatcher on Southern Connecticut’s next possession and a Hatcher free throw nine seconds later put the game away for the Owls.

Le Moyne (0-1, NE-10 0-1), which out-rebounded the Owls 39-25, including 18-9 on the offensive end, return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24 against American International at 5:30 p.m.

Courtesy: Le Moyne Athletics