Junior Shemik Thompson Leads Blue Devils to Fourth Straight Victory

Junior Shemik Thompson scored 16 second half points and led the Central Connecticut State University men's basketball team to a 61-48 home victory on Saturday over Bryant. Thompson finished the game with 24 points as the Blue Devils improve to 9-14 overall and even their Northeast Conference record at 6-6. Central plays again on Thursday night hosting Robert Morris beginning at 8 p.m.

Central trailed 24-19 at the half against the winless Bulldogs, but outscored Bryant 42-24 after the break to record their fourth straight victory. It is also the fourth straight home win for Central who will play four of its final six on its home floor. They are 6-2 at home this season.

Trailing by five at the break, the Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 29-24 lead with 14:24 on the clock. They would never trail again in the victory.

The teams were playing for the second time in less than 48 hours. Central topped the Bulldogs by 26 on the road on Thursday night. They held Bryant to 14 second points on Thursday, and on Saturday Bryant hit only 8-of-24 shots from the floor after the break in losing their 24th straight game.

Central hit 14-of-23 from the field in the second half and finished the game hitting 21-of-47 from the floor, good for 44.7 percent. They outrebounded the Bulldogs 29-27 in the game. It is the fourth straight game that they have outrebounded their opponent.

Thompson's 24 led Central, he also added five rebounds and three steals. Junior Markeys Deans had 12 points and eight rebounds, while senior Joe Seymore added 10 points and five boards. Seymore now has 957 points in his career, just 43 points shy of becoming the 31st player in school history to post 1,000 career points. Freshman Joe Efese added eight points and four rebounds in the win.

Central returns to action on Thursday night hosting Robert Morris beginning at 8 p.m. The game will be televised live on Cox Sports Television.