UB Men's Basketball Defeated By Southern Connecticut State. 99-78

Bridgeport, Conn.- The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team dropped its second decision in as many days, as they fell to the nationally-ranked Southern Connecticut State Owls by a score of 99-78 on Sunday night  in the final matchup of the Northeast-10 versus East Coast Conference tournament. Bridgeport, still seeking their first win of the year, drops to 0-2, while SCSU ups its mark to 2-0.

Southern came out of the gate hot, showing why they have been recognized as one of the top teams in Division II, by jumping out to a 17-point lead, 28-11, just 8:54 into the game. Bridgeport did manage to cut the lead down to 11 at, 29-18, going on a seven-to-one run over the next three minutes. The Owls would pull away again to eventually going to halftime with a 52-31 lead, as they shot a robust 55.9% from the field making 19 of their 34 attempts, including seven-of-seventeen from three point range.

It would be more of the same in the second half as Southern continued to shoot the ball well. The Purple Knights did put up a fight, cutting the lead down to 14 on several different occasions but could not get any closer than that for the game. Bridgeport shot a respectable 39.0% (16-of-41) from the field in the second period; however it was not enough to keep up with the Owls who again shot 55.2% (16-of-29) and knocked down nine more three point baskets. Bridgeport did out-rebound Southern, grabbing 50 boards to their 34.

For UB, newcomer, Bryce Elie (Jr., Queens, N.Y.) led the way in scoring with 25 points off the bench, also grabbing eight rebounds. Joining Bryce in double-figures were classmate Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Willie Williams III (Sr., Norwalk, Conn.) with 18 points and 16 points, respectively. Williams III recorded a double-double pulling in a game-high 13 rebounds and dishing out five assists.

Southern's Luke Houston led all scorers on the night with a game-high 29 points.

Bridgeport will head on the road to take on another Northeast-10 opponent in American International College on Wednesday, November 19 with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm.