NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A 26-5 second-half run helped the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team wipe out a double-digit deficit and race past Southern Connecticut State University, 78-69, on Saturday in Moore Field House. The Purple Knights, who remained first in the Northeast-10 Conference at 7-0, received votes toward the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national poll and were fourth in the most recent D2CSC East Region rankings. The Owls stood sixth in the latest D2CSC East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (11-2, 7-0 NE10), Southern Connecticut State (10-3, 4-3 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Romar Reid (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Woodstock Academy/Manhattan), 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 8-for-13 field goals
• Sophomore Darrel Yepdo (Dracut, Mass./Brooks School), 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7-for-9 free throws
• Sophomore Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy), 14 points, 5-for-8 field goals, 4-for-6 three-pointers
• Junior Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 9 points, 3-for-5 three-pointers, 7 rebounds
• Junior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 8 points, 2-for-5 three-pointers

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Josh McGettigan, 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 12-for-15 free throws
• Sophomore Kazell Stewart, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 offensive rebounds
• Junior Logan Bagshaw, 10 points, 3 assists
• Sophomore Cherif Diarra, 6 points, 10 rebounds, 6 offensive rebounds

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights downed the Owls for the first time since March 1, 2015, in an NE10 Championship quarterfinal at Moore Field House.
• Saint Michael's continued its best NE10 start since 2000-01 (10-0).
• The Purple and Gold's 11th win already ties last year's total, and has matched the program's most since 2014-15.
• The teams played through 13 lead changes and 10 ties.
• The Purple Knights held junior Marty Silvera, the NCAA Division II leader in assists per game (7.5), to two helpers.
• Saint Michael's shot 12-for-24 (50.0%) from three-point range to the Owls' 6-for-25 (24.0%) showing.

THE ACTION

• When Crews buried a three-pointer at 12:47 of the first half to tie the game at 16, it marked the fifth tie of the contest, with the teams combining for six threes by then, with Saint Michael's 4-for-4.
• The Purple Knights took their largest lead of the stanza, 22-18 at 9:24, thanks to Crews scoring the first four points and Reid the final five points of a 9-2 run.
• Neither team led by more than four in the frame, with the Owls nabbing a 40-36 edge heading into halftime when McGettigan his two free throws with eight seconds remaining.
• McGettigan buried a three 12 seconds into the second half before his putback at 12:57 gave Southern Connecticut State a game-high 58-46 lead.
• Still down 61-50 following Stewart's lay-in with 11:21 to go, Saint Michael's countered with a 26-5 run during a 10:36 stretch. The Purple Knights shot 8-for-18 in that time while holding the Owls without a field goal on 11 tries with seven turnovers.
• Saint Michael's erased the 11-point hole with 13 consecutive points, keyed by Crews' tying three at 7:56 and two go-ahead free throws from Yepdo 23 seconds later. Reid put home five straight Purple Knight points to push the lead to six, and his freebie at 30 seconds made it 76-66.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday vs. Bentley University, 7:30 p.m.
• The Falcons were ninth in the latest D2CSC East Region poll.