Men Drop Third Straight
Blue Devils back in action on Thursday night at Bryant at 7 p.m.
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team dropped its third straight game, 89-80, on the road at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Kyle Vinales led the offense with 24 points, including 10-of-19 from the field.
Sophomore Brandon Peel posted his second career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Junior Matt Hunter added 13 points and eight boards, while classmate Terrell Allen had 11 points and eight boards.
The Blue Devils are now 10-14 overall and 6-7 in Northeast Conference play with the loss. Mount improves to 12-13 overall and 7-7 in league play.
Central shot the ball well in the first half and the scoring was balanced as six players had at least six points and no one had more than nine. They were 17-of-34 from the field, and held the Mount to 17-of-41 shooting, including 5-of-23 from three.
The Blue Devils held the edge on the board, 24-18, including seven from Allen and six from Peel. They had eight offensive boards that led to 10 second chance points.
The Mount started the second half with a 13-2 run and took a 54-44 lead with 15:28 to play. The Blue Devils started the second half just 1-of-9 from the floor.
A quick run by the Blue Devils cut the lead to 56-52. Vinales had four points in the run as Central cut it to four with 12:37 on the clock. But the Mount would answer, and build the lead back to 10.
The Mount lead reached 77-61 as the Blue Devils went cold from the field. A lay-up from Hunter made it 77-63 and stopped a two minute scoring drought for the Blue Devils. A three from Vinales and a bucket from Peel cut the lead to 80-70 with under three minutes to play. Central would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
Central outrebounded the Mount 45-40 in the game, led by 11 from Peel. The Blue Devils had 18 offensive rebounds in the game. Vinales had 17 points in the second half and 24 for the game. Central turned the ball over 15 times leading to 20 points for the Mount. CCSU had only four points off nine Mount miscues.
The Blue Devils continue their road trip next Thursday night at Bryant at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1410, ESPN Radio 1300 and online at www.iheartradio.com.