Blue Devils Fly Past Hawks, 92-58

Three Central Connecticut men's basketball players scored over 20, as the Blue Devils dismantled the University of Hartford at home on Saturday, 92-58.  The win is the third straight for CCSU, who is now 3-2 on the season.

The Blue Devils allowed only 13 first half points, the fewest points allowed in the first half since they let up 14 in a game at Air Force on December 12, 2000 (Central led 29-14 at the half, but lost in overtime.)   It is the fewest points allowed in any half in the 16 seasons under head coach Howie Dickenman.

The 44-13 halftime edge was the largest for Central since they led Delaware 50-19 at the half in a game on December 16, 2007.

Freshman Kyle Vinales scored a game-high 25 points, and seniors Robby Ptacek and Ken Horton added 24 and 20 as the Blue Devils topped the Hawks for the sixth straight time.

The Hawks took an early 6-2, as the Blue Devils didn't score their first basket until the 15:01 mark.

From that point on it would be all Central Connecticut, as Ptacek scored 14 of the first 19 points for the Blue Devils in the next five minutes.  Hartford would score just seven points in the final 15:15, including just three field goals.

Ptacek's 14th point make it 19-11 with 10:59 in the half, and the Blue Devils would push the scoring run to 17-0 and take a 34-11 lead with just over four minutes to play.

They led 44-13 at the half, including 22 from Ptacek and 16 from Horton.  They combined to hit 13-of-16 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line before halftime.  Hartford was just 6-of-27 from the field and had 15 turnovers that led to 17 Central points.

The second half belonged to Vinales, as he hit 9-of-12 from the field and scored 22 of his 25 points after the break.  During one three minute span he scored 12 straight CCSU points, including a four-point play when he was fouled on a three-pointer. 

The Blue Devils led by as many as 40 points in the win, their most convincing home victory since a 29 point win over UMass last season.

Vinales, Ptacek and Horton combined to 69 points in the game, and each scored over 20 for the second straight home victory.

Central finished the game with 21 assists and 12 steals.  Ptacek led the way with seven dimes, and freshman Malcolm McMillan added six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Horton finished the game with 20 points, eight boards, two blocks and three steals.  Freshman Adonis Burbage scored a career-high 13 points, including 3-of-3 from three-point land.  He added four rebounds in the victory.

The Blue Devils shot 33-of-53 from the field, good for 62.3 percent, a season-high and their best shooting percentage since they shot 64 percent in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2008-09 season.

Central returns to action on Thursday night on the road at Bryant in their first Northeast Conference game of the season.  Tip is set for 7 p.m.