Men's Basketball Heads to NYC to Face St. John's on Tuesday
The Blue Devils are playing their third game in five days.
The Central Connecticut men's basketball team continues its opening season stretch of games with a contest at St. John's on Tuesday night. Tipoff at Carnesecca Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS2. The teams are meeting for just the second time in series history.
The Blue Devils are coming off a a 71-67 loss at Rutgers of the Big Ten on Sunday. The Blue Devils led by as much as 10 in the first half and were in front by a basket midway into the second half before a late RU run was the difference.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION | Carnesecca Arena (Queens, NY)
CCSU (0-2) at St. John's (1-0) | Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 6:30 PM
TV (FS2) | LIVE STATS | AUDIO | @KizerBlueDevil (In-game twitter updates)
OPENING NOTES • Central is facing St. John's for just the second time in the series history and it's the first meeting since Nov. 24, 1990. The Blue Devils are in the midst of a stretch of playing three games in five days to open the season. CCSU will play four games in the first week of the year - all on the road. Following today's game, Central will travel to East Carolina for a Friday night game. The game is part of the Showcase on the Banks event.
KOHL-SING TIME • The season is young, but junior Tyler Kohl has shown a propensity to play his best for the Blue Devils after halftime. In the second half and overtime, Kohl is averaging 19.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and shooting .565 from the floor. He had 20 of his 22 points after the break at Rutgers and went 4-of-6 on three-pointers. In the opener, an overtime loss at Hartford, Kohl accounted for 17 points after the break, including a stretch of scoring nine points in a 3:46 span. He hit a shot with :25 to play to send the game to overtime.
WORKING OVERTIME • Central fell in overtime at Hartford, 85-84, in the opener. It was the second time in three season-openers that CCSU has played an overtime game - both losses versus Hartford. The Blue Devils have gone 0-3 in overtime games in season-openers. CCSU lost 92-83 to Hartford on Nov. 13, 2015 in double overtime, and fell to Fairfield, 64-63, in overtime on Nov. 10, 2012. CCSU is 1-2 in overtime games under head coach Donyell Marshall.
CLOSE CONTESTS • Central's first two games have been decided by a combined total of five points. It was the closest margin for two opening games since dropping the first two games of 2012-13 by a combined 4 points (64-63 vs. Fairfield, 64-61 at Saint Peter's). CCSU's one-point loss at Hartford was the first time it lost a game by one point since Nov. 10, 2012 (64-63 vs. Fairfield).
UP NEXT • The Blue Devils travel East Carolina for a 7:00 p.m. game on Friday, Nov. 17. Central will play its first four games on the road before hosting Coppin State on Nov. 21.