WEST HAVEN, Conn. - There was a sense of what could have been as the University of New Haven men's basketball team was on the verge of winning back-to-back Northeast-10 Conference games for the first time this season before falling 78-74 in overtime to rival Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday.

New Haven led by three points in the closing seconds of the second half after freshman Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) made the second of two free throws.

Southern Connecticut's Josh McGettigan hit a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime. Without the benefit of video replays, the three officials ruled that the shot was good even though a video showed that the ball was still in McGettigan's hands when the red light came on to signal that time had expired.

The Chargers led twice in overtime but in the end, the Owls came away with the four-point win.

"It is very tough," New Haven senior forward Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) said. "Anytime you play Southern, it is going to be a hard-fought battle."

Southern Connecticut led by as many as 11 points before New Haven came back to tie the game as back-to-back baskets by King was followed by a Thomas dunk. The first 3-pointer of the game by Thomas gave New Haven the lead.

Sean Braithwaite (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) hit a layup to give the Chargers their first two-possession lead of the game and later added a free throw to set the stage for the chaotic end to regulation.

King, a freshman, and redshirt freshman Ethan Simmon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) led New Haven with 20 points each. Thomas scored all 15 of his points in the second half while sophomore Joshua Hopson (Jersey City, N.J./MacDuffie School) had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

McGettigan led the Owls with 27 points. However, the 15 points and seven blocks by Kazell Stewart were also crucial in the win by the Owls.

Veteran New Haven coach Ted Hotaling is focusing on the process of rebuilding a roster from the team that reached the Elite Eight in the 2023 NCAA Division 2 tournament. Hotaling said there was a three-week stretch when this team improved more than any team he had coached before.

"We are a really good team," Hotaling said. "I don't think the results have gone our way. We have a lot of guys who haven't had college basketball experience. We started two freshmen, we had a sophomore 5 man who barely played last year.

"[Thomas] is the only one who has played significant minutes. Our growth and development is a tribute to the players in our program even with some of the setbacks during the season, it has been very rewarding as a coach and it has been very fun to watch. We have a really good team. I know our record doesn't reflect it but I think our talent level, our competitiveness, and our ability to win games is still really high."

Southern Connecticut (6-7, 4-3 in the Northeast-10) erased New Haven's two-point lead before back-to-back 3-pointers by McGettigan, Christian Joe and then another 3-pointer Mason Williams keyed a run to put the Owls up by 11.

King's three-point play got the Chargers going and when Sean Braithwaite (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) grabbed a missed 3-pointer by Thomas and scored, New Haven was only down by five.

That was the last basket in the first half for New Haven (5-9, 2-6).

Stewart had a basket and a key blocked shot and Marty Silvera scored on an offensive rebound as the Owls led 36-27 at halftime.

"The first half we were kind of stagnant," Thomas said. "The second half we came in with the right mindset coming in ready to play."