BOX SCORE NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A three-pointer from Greg Langston in the closing seconds proved to be the difference as the University of New Haven men's basketball team was edged by host No. 6 Southern Connecticut State, 73-71, in the Northeast-10 Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at Moore Field House.
 
Following the loss, the Chargers will enter the NCAA Division II East Region Championship. The nationally-ranked Owls are the presumptive host and top seed at the eight-team regional with a record of 27-2.
 
Jeffery Adkins (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) led New Haven with a career-high 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting with a 3-for-3 performance from three-point range. He also neared a double-double, matching his career best with nine rebounds to go along with four assists. Cyrus James (Manchester, Conn./Howell Cheney Tech) also closed in on a double-double with 15 points and nine boards.
 
Justin Exum (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) was the third Charger in double figures with 15 points, while Eric Anderson (Newark, N.J./Newark Tech) and Ashanti DePass (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) each netted eight points. Jonny Ocasio (Queens, N.Y./Charlotte (Fla.) / Hillsborough Community College) knocked down a free throw to round out the scoring.
 
As a unit, New Haven shot 27-for-58 (46.6 percent) from the field, 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from three-point range and 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the free throw line.
 
The Chargers held the rebounding edge, 41-38, though the Owls earned a 13-11 edge in second-chance points. Both teams committed just two turnovers.
 
Defensively, New Haven slowed the potent SCSU offense – which averaged 87.0 points per contest and shooting over 45 percent from the floor entering the day – but the Owls knocked down 14 three-pointers in the contest on 33 attempts (42.4 percent) to jumpstart their 25-for-65 ( 38.5 percent) shooting day overall. The hosts were also 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Tylon Smith, who was named the NE-10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player, led four Owls in double figures with 22 points.
 
In a contest that featured six ties and 15 lead changes, Southern Connecticut State made the first run to claim a 20-11 lead at the 11:53 mark in the first half. At that point, the Owls went without a field goal over the next 5:12 of action as Adkins netted six points during a 12-2 run that staked the Chargers to a 23-22 edge as the half crept under seven minutes remaining. The score was tied three more times in the opening half, and SCSU came out of the deadlock with the half's last run to send New Haven into the intermission facing a 36-35 deficit.
 
After a Luke Houston bucket to open the second half, a James dunk and Exum three-pointer started the Chargers on a surge into the lead. The gap grew as large as eight points at 54-46 on an Adkins trey, but SCSU responded with an 11-4 stretch to close the gap to one point at 58-57 with 7:46 to play. An Exum basket extended the lead again, and Michael Mallory followed with a three-pointer to knot the contest at 60-60.
 
Neither team would lead by more than one possession for the remainder of the game, culminating with a 67-67 stalemate at the 1:48 mark of regulation. James put the Chargers back on top with a reverse layup. Houston responded with a trey to stake SCSU to a 70-69 advantage and the clock ticked under one minute to play. On the ensuing New Haven possession, Adkins attacked the rim and scored with 46 seconds left as the Chargers went back up by one, 71-70.
 
The Owls missed a three-pointer on their next trip, but Smith tracked down the offensive board to retain possession with the option to hold for the final shot. Langston held the ball until the 10-second mark hen released a contested three-pointer from the top of the key and connected. Adkins' runner in traffic was no good as the horn sounded and top-seeded SCSU survived with a 73-71 victory.
 
The Chargers were represented on the All-Championship Team by Adkins and Anderson. In the postseason, Adkins averaged 23.3 points on 25-for-39 shooting (64.1 percent) from the field with eight three-pointers on 11 attempts for a 72.7 percent success rate. He added 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in a run that included wins over Saint Michael's and Saint Anselm prior to today's outing.
 
Anderson recorded 16.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game during the NE-10 Championship.
 
New Haven, slotted at No. 3 in the most recent NCAA East Region Rankings, learns its final seeding and next opponent on Sunday, March 9 during the NCAA Selection Show at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.