Men Slip to 7-5 in NEC Play with Loss at LIU

Senior Ken Horton scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Central Connecticut men's basketball team dropped a 95-80 decision on the road at LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.  With the loss Central is now 7-5 in Northeast Conference play.

Horton's double-double is the 28th of his career and his 10th this season.  His 20-point output is his league-leading 43rd career game with 20 or more points and the 91st time in his career that he has scored in double-figures.

LIU Brooklyn won for the 21st straight time at home, and is now 17-7 overall and remains in first place in the NEC with an 11-1 record. 

Senior Robby Ptacek added 24 points, and he finished the game with 1,434 points.  It was his 26th career game with 20 or more points and his second straight.

The loss is the second straight and the fourth in the last five games for the Blue Devils.  They are now 10-12 overall on the season.

Central opened the game quickly, taking a 15-9 lead before the Blackbirds rebounded to take a 23-19 lead with under 10 minutes to play before halftime.  The Blue Devils started 3-of-9 from field, but hit six of their next eight shots.  They scored 16 of their first 19 points in the paint.

With the game tied at 31-31 with just over five monutes to play, the Blackbords ended the half on an 18-5 run opening a 49-36 lead.  They were 16-of-17 from the free-throw line and shot 45 percent from the field.

The Blue Devils turned the ball over 10 times in the half, leading to 15 Blackbirds points.

The second half opened with a flare, as three technical fouls were called in the first 2:20, and Central cut the lead to five before the first media timeout, 56-51.  Two of the technicals went against the Blackbirds, and one against CCSU.

The tide would shift, and the Blackbirds would take control of the game just after the 15 minute mark of the second half.

Horton picked up his fourth foul with 14:38 on the clock, and the Blackbirds responded with 11 straight points to push the lead back to 67-51.  A bucket from Vinales stopped the run and cut the lead to 14.  The run would reach 17-2 and the Blackbird lead was 20 with 12 minutes to play.

Horton's 29 points give him 1,851 for his career, moving into ninth place on the all-time NEC scoring list.  His 10 rebounds put him at 788 for his career.

Central continues its road trip on Wednesday night on the road at Quinnipiac beginning at 7 p.m.