NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The HFU men's basketball team cut a 13-point deficit to four at halftime and then one early in the second half, before regionally-ranked Southern Connecticut State pulled away for a 69-79 win over the Tigers on Tuesday afternoon.
Individual Highlights
- Aamir Hurst (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti) and Jason Shields (Scranton, Pa./Scranton (Jefferson University)) matched the game's second-highest point total of 15
- Hurst made 5-of-8 field goals, 3-of-3 3-pointers and both his free throw attempts
- Shields drained 6-of-12 field goals and 3-of-4 triples, while leading the Tigers with five rebounds and a season-best three assists
- Tairi Ketner (Philadelphia, Pa./Woodstock Academy (University at Albany)) was just behind with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting
- Tazir Cantey (Lindenwold, N.J./Eastern Regional) and Ethan Pires (Dover, Del./The Pennington School (Millersville University)) each scored eight points
- Jake McGonigle (Ocean City, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) recorded a team and career-high three steals
Inside the Box Score
- Holy Family made four more 3-pointers, 11-7, but the Owls made eight more free foul shots, 4-12, and outrebounded the Tigers 27-41
How it Happened
First Half
- Southern Connecticut jumped out to a 2-11 advantage 3:11 into the action
- The Owls went ahead by double-digits, 12-22, for the first time midway through the first half and were up by as many as 13, 22-35, entering the final four minutes of the half
- Holy Family cut into the deficit with a 12-2 surge though, with 3-pointers from Hurst and Ryan Holmes (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter School (CC of Philadelphia)) and Cantey scoring the final four points before a SCSU free throw made it 34-38 at the break
Second Half
- The two teams exchanged the first 12 baskets of the second, with a McGonigle 3-pointer getting HFU as close as 47-48 with 13:11 to play
- Southern Connecticut responded with a 16-2 flurry to go ahead 49-65 less than four minutes later
Up Next
The Tigers return from the holiday break to host District of Columbia on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.