Press Release

RANDALL REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS AS SMC DOWNS OWLS, 85-75 Senior tallies team-high 18 points, reaches milestone with 1:10 remaining FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      FOR MORE INFORMATION February 10, 2004                                                                      Contact: Seth Cole                                                                                                 Phone: (802) 654-2537 COLCHESTER, Vt. – Senior Delbert Randall (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of his collegiate career, as Saint Michael’s College rallied from an eight-point second half deficit to defeat Northeast-10 Conference rival Southern Connecticut State University, 85-75, in men’s basketball action on Tuesday at the Ross Sports Center. Randall, who entered the contest needing 16 points to reach the milestone, became the 34th player to tally 1,000 career points with a pair of free throws with 1:10 remaining. He finished eight-of-10 from the foul line as Saint Michael’s (8-15, 5-14 NE-10) shot 26-of-33 from the charity stripe in winning for the fourth time in its last five games. Three other Purple Knights scored in double figures. Sophomore Chase Graves (West Chester, Pa./Storm King) notched 15 points and a game-high five assists, freshman Brendan Mullins (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) recorded 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds, and sophomore BJ Robertson (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) chipped in 13 points. Saint Michael’s was outrebounded 36-25, but forced 19 turnovers while committing just nine miscues. For the Owls, junior Mike McCurdy (Milford, Conn.) scored a game-high 23 points, connecting on 10-of-15 shots. Sophomore Reggie Alston, Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) tallied 12 points, while freshman Ernie Brown (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and junior Mike Vukmanovich (Bethel, Conn.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Southern Connecticut (4-19, 4-14). In the first half, Saint Michael’s used a 13-0 run, including 11 by Mullins, midway through the stanza to turn a 23-19 lead into a 36-19 advantage with 7:26 remaining. The Owls, however, scored 22 of the final 31 points in the period to cut the deficit to 45-41 at intermission. Southern Connecticut shot 58 percent in the first half, while the Purple Knights converted at a 57 percent clip. The Owls carried their momentum into the second half, as the visitors opened the period on an 18-6 run to open its biggest lead, 59-51, with 13:31 to go. Saint Michael’s rallied, however, and regained a 63-61 lead on a 3-pointer by senior Ben Smith (Southport Island, Maine/Boothbay Region) with 10:04 remaining. The Purple Knights never trailed again, and sealed the victory by making 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:44.  Smith, who finished the game with eight points, needs 18 more to join Randall in the 1,000-point club. Saint Michael’s returns to action on Feb. 18 at league-rival Le Moyne College before hosting its final home game of the season on Feb. 21 versus conference foe Saint Anselm College at 3:30 p.m.       ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002