Men's Basketball Comes Up Short vs. Towson

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team fell to 0-3 on the season with a 58-49 loss to Towson on Friday afternoon.  The game was played at Monmouth University as part of the NABC College Basketball Experience Hall of Fame Classic.  The Blue Devils will be in action again on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. vs. the host team Monmouth.

With the win Towson improves to 2-1 on the season.  They will play Bethune-Cookman on Saturday in the first game at 5 p.m.

The Blue Devils struggled in the first half but came out strong in the second half to get as close as three with eight minutes left in the half.  Towson answered with a 7-0 run that helped build the lead back to 10 and preserve the victory.

Sophomore Khalen Cumberlander scored a team-high 14 points, all of them coming in the second half.  He hit four threes in the half, matching his career-high.   Classmate Matt Mobley also added 14 points in the loss, marking his third straight double-figure game to start the season.  Mobley was 4-of-13 from the field.  Cumberlander hit 5-of-14 and was 4-of-8 from.

Central held their own on the boards as junior Brandon Peel grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in the game on his way to his first double-double of the season.   He had eight on the offensive end of the floor.  Central had 13 offensive rebounds as a team and outrebounded the Tigers 40-38 in the game.  Peel added 10 points for the double-double.  He was 5-of-7 from the field.

The Blue Devils turned the ball over 21 times in the game, and had only six assists.  They had five blocks, including three from Peel and two from freshman Mustafa Jones.

Central came out quickly in the second half and cut the lead to six 31-25, with 15:34 on the clock.  They made four quick field goals, matching their first half total, including a pair of threes from Cumberlander and Mobley.  Cumberlander hit a second three, and following the sixth point of the half from junior Brandon Peel, the Towson lead was just five, 36-31, with 11:43 on the clock.

After the Blue Devils cut the lead to three, 40-37, with 8:30 left, the Tigers answered with a 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to 10.  Central would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

The Blue Devils struggled offensively in the first half, hitting on just 4-of-21 from the field and missing all five three point attempts.  They had 15 points, but trailed by only 11 after turning the ball over nine times and making just 7-of-12 from the free throw line.  Towson led by as many as 14 in the half.

Towson hit on 10-of-27 from the field and hit a pair of threes, and held a slight 20-18 edge on the boards.  Peel had five boards to lead the Blue Devils.  Mobley had six points but was just 1-of-5 from the field.

The Blue Devils will continue in the NABC College Basketball Experience Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday night facing the host team, Monmouth, at 7:30 p.m.  The game will follow a 5:00 tip between Towson and Bethune-Cookman.