Peel Posts Another Double-Double; Men Fall to Wagner
Peel collects ninth straight double-double
Senior Brandon Peel posted his ninth straight double-double for the Central Connecticut men's basketball team, but it was not enough as Wagner used a stout defense to win, 83-57, on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium. Peel finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.
The loss drops the Blue Devils to 4-23 overall and 3-13 in the Northeast Conference, while Wagner improves to 18-9 overall and 11-5 in the NEC to remain in first-place.
Freshman Evan Phoenix paced the Blue Devils with 12 points off the bench. He added seven rebounds. Sophomore Kevin Seymour finished with 11 points and four assists.
COACH DICKENMAN HALFTIME FEATURE
The Seahawks scored the first four points of the game and led throughout. Freshman Jahlil Nails got CCSU on the board with a three-pointer to make it 4-3. A jumper by sophomore Mustafa Jones would also get Central within, 6-5, but that was as close as the game would be the rest of the afternoon.
Phoenix would do his best to keep Central close as he scored six straight for CCSU at one point. He finished with 12 points in the opening period on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Wagner was efficient from the field in the opening half, hitting 20-of-32 (62.5 percent) shots overall and 5-of-10 (50 percent) from three-point range. A three-pointer by Corey Henson just before intermission made it 45-34 at halftime.
Junior JJ Cratit hit a three-pointer to make it 47-37 with 18:24 to play, but the Seahawks would hold the Blue Devils to just one field goal over the next seven minutes. A three-point play Peel got the Blue Devils within 64-45 with 11:37 remaining.
A 12-1 run by Wagner gave the visitors their largest lead of the afternoon. A layup by Romone Sanders made it 76-47 with 6:16 left. The Blue Devils would come back with four straight points, but were unable to threaten the Seahawks.
The Seahawks defense limited CCSU to just six field goals in the second half. The Blue Devils shot 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) from the field for the game and 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from three-point range.
Phoenix finished with 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Seymour scored in double-figures for the third time in four games and finished with 11 points and gave out four assists to just one turnover. Peel scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to move into eighth all-time at CCSU with 853 for his career. Cratit and freshman Austin Nehls each added nine points.
Mike Aaman led Wagner with 12 points, while Michael Carey and Romone Saunders each added 11 points. The Seahawks shot 36-of-63 (57.1 percent) for the game and held a 41-31 rebounding advantage. Wagner outscored CCSU in the paint, 48-20.
Central is back in action on Thursday, Feb. 25, when it travels to LIU Brooklyn for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
