Men's Basketball Faces Saint Francis U. on ESPN3 on Saturday

The Blue Devils tip off at 3 pm following the CCSU-SFU women's game.

January 17, 2017

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team faces Saint Francis U. on Saturday, Jan. 21, for a game to be carried live on ESPN3. The Blue Devils and Red Flash will tip at 3:00 p.m. following the CCSU-SFU women's game.

The Blue Devils have dropped their first seven conference games after falling to Robert Morris, 74-67, on Thursday night.

The Red Flash held off Bryant, 75-61, to improve to 7-11 overall and 4-3 in the NEC on Thursday.

Paul Dottino (play-by-play) and Joe DeSantis (analyst) will call the action for ESPN3 on Saturday.

All NEC games home and away are available to stream, for free, at NECFrontRow.com.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

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 (PDF)

Series Notes vs. Saint Francis U.:

• Series Record: CCSU leads, 20-17

• First Meeting: Dec. 21, 1994 (SFU, 77-58)

• Last Meeting: Feb. 6, 2016 (SFU, 91-82)

• Last CCSU Win: Feb. 19, 2015 (53-50)

• Current CCSU Streak: L2

• Last FDU Win: Feb. 6, 2016 (82-91)

Series Notes vs. Robert Morris:

• Series Record: RMU leads, 21-16

• First Meeting: Feb. 4, 1989 (RMU, 81-71)

• Last Meeting: Jan. 19, 2017 (RMU, 74-67)

• Last CCSU Win: Feb. 4, 2016 (65-60)

• Current CCSU Streak: L1

• Last RMU Win: Jan. 19, 2017 (67-74)

CCSU Notes:

• Sophomore Austin Nehls scored 22 points at Robert Morris and moved into a tie for 10th all-time at CCSU with 116 career three-pointers.
• Freshman Chris Williams scored a career-high eight points in just 11 minutes, while classmate Tyson Batiste shot 3-for-3 in the second half at RMU.

• The Central defense limited LIU Brooklyn and Fairleigh Dickinson to just .361 shooting from the field last week combined. CCSU's defense allowed its two lowest scoring outputs of the season last week as well.

Saint Francis U. Notes:

• Keith Braxton was named NEC Rookie of the Week for a league-leading fourth time on Monday. He averaged 19.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, and 2.0 spg while shooting 70.8 percent from the field in two games.

• Josh Nebo was named an NEC Prime Performer after swatting 11 shots in two games last week. He had a career-high 23 points vs. Robert Morris. He averaged 13.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg and 5.5 bpg.

• Braxton and Jamaal King each had 21 points and eight rebounds in the win over Bryant on Thursday.

Robert Morris Notes:

• Isaiah Still ranks sixth in the NEC, averaging 14.6 points per game. He has scored double-figures in 14 games this season. He dished out a career-high six assists against Saint Francis U. on Jan. 12.

• Matty McConnell is tied for the NEC lead in steals in conference play with 15 (2.5 per game). He had seven total in RMU's two games last week. He averaged 13.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 spg.

• The Colonials have held opponents to just .238 (25-105) shooting from the arc in NEC play. In all games, opponents have shot just .282 (88-312) from the arc against RMU.

NCAA 2016-17 Rules Review Videos

Last Time Out

The Central Connecticut men's basketball team trailed Robert Morris throughout and fell, 74-67, at the Sewall Center. Sophomore Austin Nehls led all scorers with 22 points. Senior Khalen Cumberlander added 13 points and five rebounds. CCSU shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46) from the field overall and were 5-of-16 (.313) from three-point range.

The Colonials hit four of their first five shots and built a 10-3 lead in the early going following Braden Burke's layup. A dunk by Dachon Burke off a steal would extend RMU to its largest lead at 14-5 before a CCSU timeout.

The Blue Devils would cut the deficit to 30-28 in the final minute of the period. A foul shot by freshman Harrison Kay would open a spurt of five straight points by Central. Cumberlander would hit back-to-back layups to cut the RMU lead to just two points.

Robert Morris took a 33-28 lead into halftime after Kavon Stewart converted a three-point just before the break.

Nehls and Cumberlander led the Blue Devils with eight points each in the first half. The Colonials shot 50.0 percent from the field in the opening period, while Central shot 45.5 percent. RMU was 4-of-10 (.400) from three-point range, while CCSU was just 1-of-8 (.125).

A jumper in the lane by freshman Tyson Batiste would get CCSU within 43-40 with 13:49 to play, but that is as close as it would be the rest of the way. Robert Morris came back with a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the night.

Kavon Stewart had five points during the run, including a three-pointer to make it 53-42 with 11:03 to play.

Freshman Chris Williams would score four straight for CCSU in the closing minute to cut the deficit to five. Stewart would put the game out of reach with two foul shots for RMU to settle the final margin.

Stewart led four Colonials in double-figures with 21 points. Matty McConnell added 12 points on four three-pointers, while Dachon Burke had 11 and Aaron Tate finished with 10. RMU shot 52.0 percent overall (26-of-50) and was 7-of-16 (.438) on three-pointers.

RMU forced CCSU into 20 turnovers and held a 25-14 edge in points off of turnovers for the game.

Up Next

Central hosts Bryant on Jan. 25 in a TV game on MSG+ and Fox College Sports. CCSU coaches will participate in the the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers game. Former academic advisor, Bobbie Koplowitz, will be honored at Alumni Day on Jan. 28.