Men's Basketball Downs First-Place Mount St. Mary's, 76-72
Blue Devils down first-place Mountaineers.
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team got a career night from sophomore Kevin Seymour and another double-double from senior Brandon Peel to down Mount St. Mary's, 76-72, on Thursday night at Detrick Gymnasium.
Peel posted his eighth straight double-double to lead Central. He finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Seymour matched a career-high with 14 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The win improves CCSU to 4-22 overall and 3-12 in the Northeast Conference. Mount, which entered the night in a four-way tie atop the standings, slips to 12-16 overall and 9-6 in the NEC.
The Blue Devils led by two points at halftime, but pushed its lead to double-figures early in the second half after a short jumper by Seymour and a layup by junior Khalen Cumberlander made it 57-47 with 11:52 to play.
The Mountaineers chipped away at the Central lead and got within 70-69 after a three-pointer by BK Ashe and a layup by Junior Robinson with 1:26 to play, but Peel came up with two big defensive plays late to protect the lead. He got a steal with 42 second left and on the next possession blocked a Mount three-pointer with 21 seconds to play.
The Blue Devils would hit three foul shots down the stretch to offset a pair of Mount free throws to pick up the win and snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
Central hit 18-of-21 foul shots in the second half and finished the game with a season-high 30-of-34 (.882) free throws. The Mount was just 12-of-17 at the foul line for the game.
Mount St. Mary's opened the game by jumping out to a 5-0 lead and led by as much as 11-4 in the opening period. The Blue Devils peeled off five straight points on a three-point play by freshman Austin Nehls and a finger roll by sophomore Mustafa Jones to make it 18-17 midway through the period.
Central took its first lead of the night after a three-pointer from Nehls and a layup by Seymour made it 22-20 at the 8:51 mark. CCSU would push the lead to as much as 32-27 after an 8-0 run was capped off by a jumper by Peel.
The Mount retook the lead with a 6-0 run and neither team led by more than a basket over the final five minutes. Two foul shots by freshman Jahlil Nails gave the Blue Devils a 38-36 lead at the intermission of a half that featured four ties and seven lead changes.
Peel finished with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. He added four blocks and a steal in 35 minutes. Seymour added 14 points and six rebounds, while Nehls scored 16 points. The Blue Devils outrebounded Mount, 39-34, and finished the night 22-of-48 (45.8 percent) from the floor.
Junior Robinson led Mount with 18 points, while Ashe added 17 and Gregory Graves chipped in with 14 points. The Moutaineers shot 27-of-67 (40.3 percent) from the field.
The Blue Devils are back in action at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 20, against Wagner. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Tickets can be purchased at CCSUTickets.com or at the box office upon entry. Admission for all CCSU students, faculty and staff is free of charge with a valid Blue Chip card.
