The Owls had a big weekend in swimming, track and field, and basketball. Congratulations to Raymond Cswerko, Nick Lebron, and men’s basketball!
CSWERKO WINS 2014 NCAA TITLE IN 200 FLY
GENEVA, Ohio – Southern Connecticut State University swimmer Raymond Cswerko (Torrington, Conn.), touched the wall first in the 200 fly on Friday evening at the NCAA Division II Championships. Cswerko led the field by nearly a full second (1:46.25) to capture his first NCAA individual title. The effort came roughly 24 hours after he finished as the NCAA runner-up in the 400 individual medley.
In four races at this year’s Championships, Cswerko secured one first place, one second place and one fifth place (200 IM) finish.
The national title was the 77th individual crown in SCSU history. Cswerko was the lone representative at the nationals from the Northeast-10 Conference.
LEBRON WINS SECOND CAREER NCAA TITLE IN HEPTATHLON
WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – For the second time in three years, Nick Lebron (Newington, Conn.) has captured the NCAA Championship in the heptathlon. After winning the crown in 2012 and also earning All-America honors last year, Lebron claimed this year’s title with a new NCAA Division II record score of 5,765 points.
Lebron sealed up the title on Saturday with first place finishes in the 60 hurdles and 1000 meters, along with a fourth place showing in the pole vault. He was also in first place after day one.
SWEET 16! Owls Advance to East Regional Final Tuesday
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn.) floater with 2.4 seconds left gave the No. 2/4 Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team a 79-77 victory over Franklin Pierce in the NCAA second round game. The win puts the Owls into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996-97.
Smith scored four of his team-high 21 points in the final minute. The junior also distributed eight assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Down a bucket with less than 60 seconds to go, Luke Houston (Pearl River, N.Y.) and Smith combined to knot things up. Houston forced Franklin Pierce freshman Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) into making a telegraphed cross-court pass, which was anticipated and stolen by Smith.
The Ravens’ freshman was able to get back on the play, stuffing the layup by the Owls’ point guard. However, Houston, hustling all the way, had the put back to send Moore Field House into euphoria.
For the contest, Houston grabbed 12 rebounds and scored nine points.Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) added 17 points, while Deshawn Murphy (Hamden, Conn.) tossed in 10 for the home team, which scored the game’s final six points. Greg Langston (Stratford, Conn.) scored eight points to move into third place on the Owls’ career scoring chart (1,856 points).
Southern Connecticut, which led 45-39 at the half, set a school-record with its 29th victory of the season.
With the victory, the Owls, 29-2, face Saint Anselm (22-7), the No. 3 seed, in the East Regional Final Tuesday night. Presale tickets for tomorrow’s game will take place at the field house box office from 5-8 pm today (Monday, March 17).
