Monday night’s lone regional crossover contest took place in New Haven, and it went right down to the final possession:
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 73 JEFFERSON 71
Jerry Luckett, Jr.’s put-back with 7.5 seconds to play was the difference as Southern Connecticut edged Jefferson at the Moore Field House after wasting a 19-point, second-half lead in the two schools’ first meeting in 52 years. The Owls – who never trailed in the game – were tied twice: at 10-10 and 71-71. In between, they constructed a 53-34 lead early in the second half, and still held a 64-49 advantage with 11-and-a-half minutes left before the Rams embarked on a 22-7 run, equalizing on a free throw by Alexander Gorton (14 points) with 38 ticks remaining. After the big bucket from Luckett, Jefferson advanced the ball to the front court and called timeout with four seconds to go. Kaison Randolph attempted a 3-pointer for the win, but the shot was deflected by Ulyen Coleman (11 points) to preserve Southern’s first-ever win in four lifetime meetings (the other three occurring during the mid-1960s). Five different Owls scored either 11 or 12 points, with unlikely candidate Noah Miree leading the way with a dozen in as many minutes off the bench (5-6 FG, 2-2 from deep). Luke Beesley (seven rebounds), Bernard Brantley (3-3 from 3, eight boards) and Taurus Adams II each netted 11 (the latter two in reserve roles), while Luckett just missed a double-double with nine points and just as many rebounds for the winners. Randolph paced the Rams with 20 points (8-14 FG) and six caroms in 40 minutes, while Josh Brandanese (13 points off the bench, 4-8 from beyond the arc) and Yevgen Sakhniuk (nine points, 4-4 FG, nine rebounds) provided quality depth in the hard-luck loss. Southern was outshot overall (47%-44%) but was brilliant from long range (9-13 including a perfect 7-7 in the first half, compared to a 9-24 night for the visitors) while also scoring twice as often off turnovers (18-9). Jefferson made twice as many foul shots (16-24 to 8-11) to stay in lock-step with its hosts most of the night. The last time these two teams met was in 1966, two years prior to the beginning of HERB MAGEE’s historic head coaching career. That was the only season in which future NBA coach Jack McKinney mentored the program, overseeing a 21-6 season. The Rams won that last head-to-head match-up, 113-86, as well as the first two encounters, both in 1964 and 1965 – just after Magee’s playing career had ended at the then-named Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.