Purple Knights rally for third straight

New Haven -Trailing 43-38 at halftime, the University of Bridgeport men’s basketball team, playing its third road game in the last four days, fought back to post an impressive, non-conference, 87-80, road win over host and in-state rival, the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday night. With the victory, the Purple Knights are now 11-8 overall. SCSU is now 17-5 overall.

Bridgeport raced out to begin the second half on a 21-9 run to take a seven-point lead, 59-52, with 13:30 to play in that second stanza. The host Owls would then go on a run of their own to tie the contest at 63-63, before UB would regain control of the game to take an 80-72 advantage with just under five minutes to play.

Southern Connecticut would not go quietly, as the host Owls would cut the Purple Knights’ lead to just two points, 82-80 with just under two minutes to play. After exchanging scoreless trips down the court, UB would salt the game away at 95-90 when senior Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a dagger, three-point shot with 24.1 to go following a possession that was extended by a huge offensive rebound from junior Kyle Benjamin (Bronx, N.Y.).

Elliott led the Purple Knights in scoring and rebounding on the night with a game-high 27 points and seven boards. Devon was joined in double figures by classmates Jesse Jones (Irvington, N.J.) with 15 points, and Ernest Rouse (Freeport, N.Y.) with 11 points. Junior Montana Mayfield (Philadelphia, Pa.) also netted 11 points for the winners.

Austin Carter led SCSU with 16 points on the night.

Up next, the UB men’s basketball team will look to extend their winning streak to three games on Friday night in Rochester, N.Y., when they continue their five-game road trip at Roberts Wesleyan College. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.