Men's Basketball Eases Past Pine Manor College, 88-59

Central Connecticut men's basketball led wire-to-wire in an 88-59 victory over Pine Manor College on Sunday at Detrick Gymnasium. Senior Tyler Kohl led four Blue Devils in double-figures with 29 points. CCSU improved to 4-3 on the season.

The Blue Devils travel to North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Kohl finished with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He added eight rebounds and three assists in the game. Junioe Joe Hugley chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds with three steals and two blocks off the bench. Freshman Ian Krishnan added 15 points, while junior Jamir Coleman finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Blue Devils shot 45.3 percent (29-of-64) as a team overall and hit six three pointers. CCSU was 24-of-29 (.828) at the foul line and outrebounded PMC, 44-41.

Central took the lead from the jump after Coleman hit a three-pointer on the game's opening possession. The Blue Devils would shoot 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the field in the opening period and led, 52-25, at halftime after Coleman and Hugley hit back-to-back three-pointers just before the break.

Krishnan had all of his points in the opening period after hitting 5-of-7 shots, including two three-pointers. Kohl and Coleman had 13 points each at the break.

The Gators would open the second half with a 17-4 run to cut into the Central lead. A three by Jamel Hamens made it 56-42 with 14:16 to play, but the game would not get any closer.

Hugley would score five unanswered to push the cushion back to 20 at 73-53 with a pair of foul shots with 7:54 to play. The Blue Devils would cap a 12-0 run with a layup in the paint by Donyell Marshall, Jr. to take its largest lead of the game at 87-57 with 46 seconds remaining. 

After a pair of PMC foul shots, freshman Will Ellis hit two free throws to close the scoring in CCSU's 88-59 win.

Hamans led Pine Manor with 20 points, while Sayvonn Houston added 19 points and seven rebounds. The Gators shot 24-of-69 (.348) from the field and hit 6-of-22 three-pointers. Pine Manor was just 5-of-14 at the foul line.

The Blue Devils travel to North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.