Kohl, Bute Lead Men's Basketball by Hartford, 75-68

Senior Tyler Kohl finished with a career-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and classmate Deion Bute added 15 points and 11 rebounds to power the Central Connecticut men's basketball team past Hartford, 75-68, on Tuesday night at Chase Arena. The Blue Devils limited the Hawks to 28 points in the second half, while outscoring them 48-26 in the paint on the night to win the 2018-19 season-opener. The Blue Devils are now 1-0 on the season.

Junior Joe Hugley chipped in with 11 points off the bench, while junior Jamir Coleman added seven points and seven rebounds in his first game as a Blue Devil. Kohl and junior Tyson Batiste each had a game-high five assists as well.

The Blue Devils travel to Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 10, for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off on FS2. It will be the first meeting all-time between the two schools.

Senior Deion Bute hit his first three shots of the game and scored Central's first six points, but the Hawks would lead throughout the opening period, beginning with John Carroll's three-pointer on their opening possession. A three-pointer midway through the opening half would put UHart ahead, 26-14, for its largest lead of the half. 

The Blue Devils would close the period on a 7-1 spurt, while holding the Hawks without a field goal over the final 2:04. A layup by Bute, off a pass from senior Tyler Kohl, opened the run with 1:42 remaining. Kohl would follow with a jumper before junior Jamir Coleman hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the half to cut the Hartford lead to 40-36 at the intermission. 

Central shot 17-of-27 (.630) from the floor in the first half, but Hartford was 15-of-28 (.536) overall and 5-of-9 (.556) from three-point range in the opening period.

CCSU's defense held the Hawks without a field goal for the opening 2:28 of the second half, which extended UHart's field goal drought to 4:32 across both periods. A three-pointer by Carroll would give Hartford a 43-38 lead, but the Hawks would go without a field goal for another three-minute stretch as the Blue Devils chipped away at the lead.

A layup by Kohl was followed by a three-pointer from junior Joe Hugley with 12:48 to play as Central took its first lead since the opening possession of the game. 

The teams would go back-and-forth from there until, Kohl hit a layup in the lane and was fouled to tie the game for the fifth time at 63-63 with 2:39 to play. He would hit the ensuing foul shot to give Central the lead for good. 

With 1:05 to play, Hartford had the ball with an opportunity to cut into a 67-64 CCSU lead, but freshman Thai Segwai stole the inbounds pass and Hartford would be unable to get any closer the rest of the way. Kohl made four foul shots in the final :07 to ice the contest and cap a career night.

The Blue Devils finished the game shooting 29-of-61 (.475) from the field and were 15-of-20 (.750) at the foul line. CCSU held a 38-32 edge in rebounds and were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Hawks, 48-26.

Hartford shot 24-of-57 (.421) for the game from the field and were 9-of-25 (.360) from the arc, but just 4-of-16 in the second half. 

Kohl finished with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting and was 8-of-9 at the foul line. Bute was 6-of-8 from the floor to finish with 15 points, while Hugley hit 4-of-6 from the field.

The Blue Devils travel to Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 10, for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off on FS2. It will be the first meeting all-time between the two schools.