Dickenman Wins 250, CCSU Tops Brown
Becomes the second in school history to win 250 career games
Head men's basketball coach Howie Dickenman won his 250th career game as the head coach of his alma mater, as the Blue Devils topped Brown 86-71 in their home opener on Thursday night. With the win the Blue Devils are 1-2 on the season. Brown falls to 1-1.
Junior Terrell Allen had a career-night, dropping in 14 first half points, including three threes. He finished the game with a career-high 14, and was 3-of-5 from three. He was 1-of-1 in his career from three prior to Thursday night.
Sophomore Kyle Vinales scored 24 second half points on his way to a season-high 28. He was 4-of-5 from three and 9-of-13 from the field. He added four assists and a pair of steals.
The Central lead reached as many as 19 in the second half, but Brown bounced back and cut it to four at 67-63 with 7:49 on the clock in the second half. That's when Vinales hit his hot streak. He made a three to make it 70-63, a two to make it 72-63 and another three to push it to 75-66. His 10th straight point for the Blue Devils made it 77-66 with 5:31 to play and Brown would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Central made 13-of-13 from the free-throw line and shot a blistering 11-of-19 from three, good for 57.9 percent. They shot 62.0 percent from the field, a season-high.
The Blue Devils dished out 18 assists on their 31 baskets, including seven from sophomore Malcolm McMillan and six from junior Matt Hunter. Hunter continued to fill the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. He was 7-of-15 from the field and made one three.
Five different Blue Devils grabbed at least three rebounds, and five had a steals in the win. Central had nine steals and forced 14 turnovers by the Bears. Those led to 19 CCSU points. Central held a 12-0 advantage in fast-break points.
Vinales led all scorers with 28, Hunter added 17 while Allen had 14 and sophomore Adonis Burbage had 11. He was 3-of-4 from three, and is now 7-of-14 from three on the season.
Dickenman is now 250-226 in his 17 seasons coaching the Blue Devils. He is second only to his former coach and Hall of Famer Bill Detrick who won 468 games in his career in New Britain.
The Blue Devils take to the road on Sunday playing LaSalle at 2 p.m. They will then travel to UMBC on Tuesday night beginning at 7:30 p.m.