Kohl's Triple-Double Lifts Men's Basketball By FDU in Double-Overtime

Senior Tyler Kohl posted the third triple-double in program history to lead Central Connecticut past Fairleigh Dickinson, 103-96, in double-overtime on Thursday in Northeast Conference men's basketball action in Hackensack, NJ. Kohl finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in 46 minutes for the Blue Devils. CCSU improved to 7-9 on the year and 1-2 in Northeast Conference play.

Freshman Ian Krishnan added 27 points and junior Joe Hugley had 24 points, while senior Deion Bute had 13 points and 11 rebounds. CCSU shot 52.3 percent (34-of-65) in the game and was 13-of-29 (.448) on three-pointers and 22-of-26 (.846) at the foul line.

The Blue Devils travel to Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.

Central appeared to take control of the game early on when exploded with a 15-0 run midway through the opening period to build a 22-11 lead at the 9:24 mark. The Blue Devils held the Knights scorless for over five minutes during the spurt.

Junior Joe Hugley would hit his third three-pointer of the half to push the lead to 25-11 and extend the run to 18 unanswered points. A foul shot by senior Deion Bute and a trifecta from freshman Ian Krishnan made it 29-11 as FDU's scoreless drought went to 7:27.

Junior Jamir Coleman had a breakaway dunk to make it 31-11 before a Darnell Edge three-pointer ended the Knights' eight-minute scoring drought. 

The Knights would score a 8-0 run to get within 33-24 with 3:21 left in the half after a Tyler Jones layup. A jumper by Krishnan would end the FDU spurt and push the lead back to double-figures.

The Blue Devils would be held scoreless over the final 2:00 of the opening period and a three-pointer by Jahlil Jenkins as time expired would make it 39-31 CCSU at the break.

Central shot 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the opening half, including going 6-of-14 (.429) from the three-point arc. Hugley led the way with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the arc and a pair of foul shots, while senior Tyler Kohl had nine points and five rebounds in the period.

The Knights would open the second half with a pair of buckets, but CCSU came back with a 9-2 run over a 4:42 span, while holding FDU scoreless for over four minutes. Back-to-back baskets by Krishnan pushed the lead to 48-35 with 15:05 to play.

The Blue Devils would extend the lead to 57-39 in the second period, while holding FDU to a 1-of-6 shooting stretch. The Knights went just 1-of-8 from three-point range during a stretch as the Blue Devils held a 13-point lead midway through the half.

The Knights chipped away at the lead going on a 10-2 run over a 3:35 span. A three-pointer by Xzavier Malone-Key capped a run of nine unasnwered points as FDU got within 67-61. 

Fairleigh Dickinson would score nine straight, holding CCSU scoreless for 3:40, to take a 70-69 lead. Darnell Edge hit a layup with 1:51 to play to cut the Central lead to one point before Jahlil Jenkins hit a jumper with just under a minute to play to give FDU the lead. 

Central would regain the lead on a dunk by Bute and two foul shots from Kohl to make it 73-70 with three seconds to play. Edge hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to force the first overtime.

In the extra period CCSU would go ahead 82-78 after a Krishnan three-pointer, but FDU tied it with four straight points, including a dunk by Elyjah Williams to send it to a second overtime. 

CCSU would take the lead for good on a Kohl jumper to make it 88-86. He then assisted on a three-pointer by Hugley  for the triple-double. Hugley followed with a layup and two foul shots to push the lead to 95-86 and cap a 9-0 spurt for Central. FDU would get no closer than 95-91, but Kohl would score four straight at the line and Hugley converted a pair to close the scoring.

Jenkins led FDU with 25 points as the Knights had five players in double-figures. 

Central travels to Mount St. Mary's for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.