WEST HAVEN, Conn. – When two of the best defensive teams in the Northeast-10 Conference got together on Saturday afternoon, it seemed apropos that it was defensive dynamo Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./) who stood the tallest in more ways than one.

The final of Majak's nine blocked shots came with the Chargers protecting a three-point lead with 1:54 left to play as New Haven came away with the 58-51 victory over rival Southern Connecticut State.

"Majur is the heart and soul of our team," said Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic Academy), who tied for the team lead with 14 points. "We don't win this game without him. He is a big presence, he is an incredible shot blocker, an incredible person and an incredible human. We are grateful that he is on our team and not on somebody else's team. Much love to Majur, he changes the whole game every night."

New Haven (11-4, 8-2 in the Northeast-10) led by as many as 15 points in the first half and held the Owls to 5-of-38 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. However, New Haven only led by 10 points at the break.

The Owls pulled within three points on three different occasions in the final five minutes but could get no closer.

Ty Perry (Boston, Mass./Brighton), Lane and Victor Olawoye (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont Memorial High School) each hit baskets in the lane to keep the hard-charging Owls at arm's length.

"I thought we defended well, we held them to 14 points in the first half and we couldn't stretch the lead because they are so good defensively," New Haven coach Ted Hotaling said.

"They got it close in the second half and I think we did a good job responding. We hit some big shots and we have Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./), that guy at the back line that makes everything around really hard and it gives up opportunities to get out and run. His presence down low was the biggest factor of the game."

New Haven missed the front end of 1-and-1's twice in the second half and allowed the Owls to snare 24 offensive rebounds in the game. That allowed Southern Connecticut State to hang around and nearly steal the game.

"Basketball is a game of runs," said Lane, who was honored before the game for recently scoring his 1,000th career point. "We came out hot in the first half and thy cut back into the lead at halftime. We knew they were going to come out fired up. Our mindset was to stay together, play our game, get our shots and try to buckle down on defense."

The 7-foot-1 Majak, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NE10, had a season-high in blocked shots and that included three in one frenetic sequence midway through the first half. He also blocked nine shots the last time that New Haven faced the Owls.

"If you care about winning, you have to do what it takes to win so it is all about the team," said Majak, who also had 13 rebounds.

Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) had 14 points and six rebounds, Perry finished with 13 points and Olawoye had nine points and seven rebounds for the Chargers, who are tied for second with Saint Anselm in the conference standings. Next up is a trip to face first-place Bentley on Wednesday.