Men's Basketball Opens Season Against Hartford Friday

The Blue Devils host the Hawks in a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at Detrick Gymnasium.

November 10, 2016

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team opens the 2016-17 season on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against local rival, Hartford. This will be the first game for the Blue Devils under head coach Donyell Marshall. The teams are opening the season against each other for the second straight season and this marks the first of a five-year agreement between the teams facing each other in the season-opener.

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.

Bruce Biel (play-by-play) and Marc Robbins (analyst) return for another season to call the action for the Blue Devils on News Radio 1410. All of the action can also be seen live, for free, on NECFrontRow.com.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

CCSU (0-0) vs. Hartford (0-0) | 7:00 PM | NECFrontRow | Live Stats | Listen (News Radio 1410)

Series Notes:

• CCSU leads, 28-17.

• First Meeting: Dec. 13, 1958 (CCSU, 82-70)

• Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2015 (Hartford, 92-83 (2ot))

• Last CCSU Win: Dec. 6, 2014 (56-47)

Last Meeting • CCSU erased a 13-point deficit in the final 5:57 of regulation to force overtime on a three-pointer with 11.1 seconds to play, before falling in double-overtime, 92-83. CCSU took a 31-30 lead into halftime after holding the Hawks without a field goal over the final 4:17, but the Hawks used a 20-6 run out of the break to take the lead. Khalen Cumberlander led CCSU with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assits. Brandon Peel had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Austin Nehls had 14 points and hit four three-pointers. Mustafa Jones chipped in with 13 points for CCSU.

CCSU Hires Marshall • Donyell Marshall was named the 10th head coach in Central Connecticut program history on April 6, 2016. He succeeded Howie Dickenman who led CCSU for 20 seasons. Marshall was previously an assistant coach at Buffalo, Rider and George Washington. He helped the Bulls advance to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, while helping Rider tie a programrecord for wins in 2014-15 (21). A former All-American at Connecticut, he was drafted 4th in the 1994 NBA Draft by Minnesota and played 15 seasons in the NBA, including a trip to the 2007 NBA Finals with Cleveland.

Season Openers • Tonight is the first regular-season game under head coach Donyell Marshall. Central is opening its season against Hartford for the second straight season. The Blue Devils fell, 92-83, in double-overtime to the Hawks in last season's opener in the CT6. All-time in Division I the Blue Devils are 13-17 in season openers. CCSU is 2-1 against the Hawks in season-openers all-time.

Next Up • The Blue Devils travel to Seton Hall on Sunday for the first of two straight road games. SHU has won all four meetings in the series, although the teams will be meeting for the first time since Dec. 31, 2000. Following the trip to Seton Hall, CCSU travels to Binghamton for a game on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Bearcats won last year's meeting, 81-75, on Nov. 24, but the Blue Devils still lead the all-time series, 4-1.

Last Time Out • The Central Connecticut men's basketball team defeated Alvernia University, 78-71, on Friday night in an exhibition game at Detrick Gymnasium. The Blue Devils had five players score in double-figures and never trailed in the contest. Senior Khalen Cumberlander led CCSU with 17 points, while senior Tidell Pierre added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Mustafa Jones added 14 points, senior Tafari Whittingham had 11 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Austin Nehls chipped in with 10 points.

The Blue Devils scored on their opening possession on a jumper by Pierre and never trailed throughout, although the Crusaders were able to draw even on three occasions. The game was tied at 16-16 with 9:49 in the opening half, before CCSU scored six straight points as part of a 14-2 run over a six-minute span. A layup by junior Kevin Seymour with 3:13 to play in the half gave Central its largest lead of the period at 30-18. The Crusaders trimmed the deficit to 31-24 at halftime, but a three-pointer by Nehls out of the intermission pushed CCSU's lead back to double-digits.

Central took its largest lead of the night at 47-30 on a three-pointer by Cumberlander with 16:04 to play. The basket capped an 11-2 run that expanded the Blue Devils' lead. CCSU led, 72-57, with 4:03 to play after a layup by Jones before Alvernia would chip away at the lead. The Crusaders held Central without a field goal over the final four minutes and managed to close within, 74-71, with 0:32 remaining after a three-pointer from Reid Hoff. The Blue Devils would not allow another basket and got two foul shots apiece from Pierre and Whittingham down the stretch to close it out.

Central shot 54.2 percent from the field, while limiting Alvernia to 41.2 percent. The Blue Devils held a decisive 50-14 scoring margin in the paint and outrebounded the Crusaders, 40-22. George Williams led four in double-figures for Alvernia with 21 points.