Horton Scores 1,000th Career Point as Blue Devils Roll to 71-50 Victory Over New Hampshire

Junior Ken Horton became the 33rd player in CCSU men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points as the Blue Devils rolled to a 71-50 home victory over New Hampshire on Wednesday night. The win is the second straight for the Blue Devils who are now 6-5 overall and a perfect 3-0 at home. Horton finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Central. They return to action next Wednesday night hosting Brown at 7 p.m.

The Blue Devils never trailed in the game, and needed only 6:30 minutes to build a 10 point advantage. In the first half the Blue Devils held the Wildcats without a field goal for almost 12 minutes, and led by as many as 25, 35-10, before the break.

"We played 94 feet tonight and our defense took them out of their game," head coach Howie Dickenman said following his team's second straight win. "We took them out of everything they were trying to do offensively. It all starts on defense, and that has been how we have gotten things done here."

New Hampshire shot only 4-of-17 from the field before halftime as the Blue Devils led 37-13, their largest halftime lead of the season.

Central hit on 15-of-34 shots before the break, and made all six of its free-throws.

The opening of the second half belonged to Horton, who became the second Blue Devil this season to reach the 1,000 point mark. In the second half he scored 15 of his 19 points, and a three with 12:46 left in the game marked his 1,000th career point. Senior Shemik Thompson also reached that mark this season.

The lead reached as much as 34 in the second half before the Wildcats made a run at the end of the game to cut it to 21.

Thompson finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Freshman De'Angelo Speech had a career-high six assists and sophomore Devan Bailey added four assists and a pair of blocks.

Horton's 19 were a game-high. He added eight boards, three blocks and a pair of assists.

Central finished the game with 21 assists on 27 baskets, and six different players had at least two assists in the victory. In Sunday's home win over Niagara the Blue Devils assisted on 18 of 25 baskets, and now have 18 or more assists in three of the last four games played. They are averaging 13.7 assists per game in the first 11 games of the season.

The Blue Devils forced 24 New Hampshire turnovers that led to 27 Central points.

""We need to continue to play this way and cannot slack off defensively," Dickenman added. "I am pleased with the effort, and we will get back to work after the holiday and get ready for Brown next Wednesday night. This was an old fashioned CCSU win tonight, and it all started on defense."