December 19, 2016
Men's Basketball Closes Non-Conference Play at Fordham on Wednesday
Blue Devils' ready for final tuneup before Northeast Conference play begins on Dec. 29.
Central Connecticut closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a trip to face Fordham on Wednesday night at Rose Hill Gym. The Blue Devils, who are in the midst of a seven-game road swing, will be looking to snap a five-game skid after falling at UMass Lowell on Sunday. Fordham fell to Rutgers on Sunday in Madison Square Garden and will be looking to snap a six-game skid of its own.
CCSU will be facing its second Atlantic 10 foe of the season, having fallen to Duquesne, 70-67, on Dec. 10. The Rams have gone 1-1 against Northeast Conference teams this season. They defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 68-55, on Nov. 18, but fell to Sacred Heart, 71-70, on Nov. 30.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
CCSU (2-8) at Fordham (5-7) | 7:00 PM | A-10 Network | Live Stats | Listen (News Radio 1410)
Radio: (News Radio 1410 | iHeartRadio Mobile App)
Talent: Bruce Biel (Play-by-Play), Marc Robbins (Analyst)
Twitter: @KizerBlueDevil (in-game updates)
CCSU Men's Basketball Record Book
Series Notes:
• Series Record: tied, 1-1
• First Meeting: Dec. 3, 1998 (CCSU, 75-69)
• Last Meeting: Dec. 5, 2015 (Fordham, 54-86)
• Last CCSU Win: Dec. 3, 1998 (75-69)
• Current CCSU Streak: L1
• Last UMass Lowell Win: Dec. 5, 2015 (54-86)
CCSU Notes:
• Senior Khalen Cumberlander finished with a career-high 21 points (8-12 fg) at UMass Lowell. He also collected a career-high five steals, matching the total he had against the River Hawks last season. Cumberlander was named an NEC Prime Performer after averaging 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 3.5 spg last week.
• Senior Tidell Pierre scored double-figures for the fourth time in five games. He collected the first double-double of his career, and the first for a Blue Devil this season, with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds against the River Hawks.
• Freshman Chris Williams earned his first career start and played 20 minutes, while classmate Tyson Batiste returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games.
Fordham Notes:
• Joseph Chartouny led the Rams with 17 points off the bench against Rutgers. He matched his career-high with seven steals in the game.
• Fordham had 10 steals last time out and has posted double-figure steals totals nine times in the first 12 games of the season.
• The Rams are currently third in the NCAA in turnovers forced (20.42) and fourth in steals per game (11.2).
Last Time Out
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team was dealt an 86-69 setback at UMass Lowell on Sunday at the Costello Athletics Center. The Blue Devils got a career-high 21 points from senior Khalen Cumberlander and a double-double from senior Tidell Pierre, but it was not enough to overcome the hot-shooting River Hawks.
Cumberlander led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He also collected a career-high five steals, matching a total set against UML last season. Pierre finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Sophomore Austin Nehlsadded 11 points.
The Blue Devils shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) overall, but was forced into 18 turnovers.
The River Hawks shot 68.6 percent (35-of-51) overall, including 10-of-18 (.556) from three-point range. UML had five players in double-figures, led by Matt Harris and Logan Primerano with 16 points apiece.
The Blue Devils hung around early with Cumberlander scoring seven straight for CCSU at one point. His three-point play at the 14:41 mark got Central within, 14-12.
Following a layup by Cumberlander at the 12:01 mark, UMass Lowell would hold CCSU to one field goal during a span of over seven minutes to pull away. The River Hawks would use a 17-4 burst in that span to take a 39-20 lead following a three-pointer by Ryan Jones.
The Blue Devils would score five straight points at one point to trim the deficit to 42-29 after a layup by senior Tafari Whittingham, but the River Hawks would score the final five points of the period to build a 47-29 lead at the intermission.
UML, which hit 7-of-8 from the field at one stretch in the opening half, shot 76 percent (19-of-25) overall in the opening period. CCSU was held to 38.6 percent (10-of-26) in the first half.
UMass Lowell scored the first five points of the second half to push its run to 10-0 and the Blue Devils would be unable to get closer than the final margin the rest of the way.
After UML took its largest lead of the day at 85-59, Central would get two straight baskets from freshman Harrison Kay and two more from Cumberlander as part of a 10-1 run to close the game. Freshman Donyell Marshall Jr. hit a pair of foul shots to close out the scoring.
Up Next
CCSU will pick up conference play following a week-long break. Central Connecticut will play its sixth straight game on the road with a contest at Wagner to open Northeast Conference play on Thursday, Dec. 29. CCSU's current seven-game road swing is its longest since 2014-15 (eight, 1-7). CCSU will return home on January 5 against Sacred Heart in NEC play.
